BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION BUREAU  OF  ETHNOLOGY 

J.  W.  POWELL,  DIRECTOE 


INTRODUCTION 


TO  THE 


STUDY  OF  MORTUARY  CUSTOMS 


AMONG  THE 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS 


BY  DR.  H.  C. 

ACT.  A8ST.   8URG.   U.   8.   A 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE 
1880 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

BUREAU  OF  ETHNOLOGY, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  July  8,  1880. 

This  little  volume  is  the  third  of  a  series  designed  to  promote  anthro- 
pologic  researches  among  the  North  American  Indians.  The  first  was 
prepared  by  myself,  and  entitled  "  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Indian 
Languages;"  the  second  by  Col.  Garrick  Mallery,  entitled  " Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  Sign-Language  among  the  North  American  Indians." 

The  following  are  in  course  of  preparation  and  will  soon  appear: 

Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Medicine  Practices  among  the  North 
American  Indians. 

Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Mythology  among  the  North  American 
Indians. 

Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Sociology  among  the  North  American 
Indians. 

The  mortuary  customs  of  savage  or  barbaric  people  have  a  deep 
significance  from  the  fact  that  in  them  are  revealed  much  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  people  by  whom  they  are  practiced.  Early  beliefs  concerning  the 
nature  of  human  existence  in  life  and  after  death,  and  the  relations  of  the 
living  to  the  dead,  are  recorded  in  these  customs.  The  mystery  concerning 
the  future;  love  for  the  departed  who  were  loved  while  here;  reverence 
for  the  wise  and  good  who  may  after  death  be  wiser  and  better;  hatred 
and  fear  of  those  who  were  enemies  here  and  may  have  added  powers  of 
enmity  in  the  hereafter — all  these  and  like  considerations  have  led  in 
every  tribe  to  a  body  of  customs  of  exceeding  interest  as  revealing  the 
opinions,  the  philosophy  of  the  people  themselves. 

In  these  customs,  also,  are  recorded  evidences  of  the  social  condition 


IV 

of  the  people,  the  affection  in  which  friends  and  kindred  are  held,  the  very 
beginnings  of  altruism  in  primitive  life. 

In  like  manner  these  customs  constitute  a  record  of  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  people,  as  in  many  ways  they  exhibit  the  ethic  standards  by 
which  conduct  in  human  life  is  judged.  For  such  reasons  the  study  of 
mortuary  customs  is  of  profound  interest  to  the  anthropologist. 

It  is  hoped  that  by  this  method  of  research  the  observations  of  many 
men  may  be  brought  together  and  placed  on  permanent  record,  and  that 
the  body  of  material  may  be  sufficient,  by  a  careful  comparative  study, 
to  warrant  some  general  discussion  concerning  the  philosophy  of  this 
department  of  human  conduct. 

General  conclusions  can  be  reached  with  safety  only  after  materials 
from  many  sources  have  been  obtained.  It  will  not  be  safe  for  the  col- 
lector to  speculate  much  upon  that  which  he  observes.  His  own  theory  or 
explanation  of  customs  will  be  of  little  worth,  but  the  theory  and  explana- 
tion given  by  the  Indians  will  be  of  the  greatest  value.  What  do  the 
Indians  do,  and  say,  and  believe?  When  these  are  before  us  it  matters 
little  whether  our  generalizations  be  true  or  false.  Wiser  men  may  come 
and  use  the  facts  to  a  truer  purpose.  It  is  proposed  to  make  a  purely 
objective  study  of  the  Indians,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  leave  the  record 
immarred  by  vain  subjective  speculations. 

The  student  who  is  pursuing  his  researches  in  this  field  should  care- 
fully note  all  of  the  customs,  superstitions,  and  opinions  of  the  Indians 
relating  to — 

1 .  The  care  of  the  lifeless  body  prior  to  burial,  much  of  which  he  will 
find  elaborated  into  sacred  ceremonies. 

2.  The  method  of  burial,  including  the  site  of  burial,  the  attitude  in 
\\  liidi  the  body  is  placed,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  investured.     Here, 
also,  he  will  find    interesting  and  curious  ceremonial  observances.     The 
Miperstitions  and  opinions  of  the  people  relating  to  these  subjects  are  of 
importance. 

8  Tim  gifts  offered  to  the  dead;  not  only  those  placed  with  the  body 
at  the  time  of  burial,  but  those  offered  at  a  subsequent  time  for  the  bene- 
faction of  the  departed  on  his  way  to  the  other  world,  and  for  his  use 


on  arrival.  Here,  too,  it  is  as  important  for  us  to  know  the  ceremonies 
with  which  the  gifts  are  made  as  to  know  the  character  of  the  gifts 
themselves. 

4.  An  interesting  branch  of  this  research  relates  to  the  customs  of 
mourning,  embracing  the  time  of  mourning,  the  habiliments,  the  self-muti- 
lations,  and  other   penances,  and   the   ceremonies  with  which  these  are 
accompanied.     In  all  of  these  cases  the  reason  assigned  by  the  Indians  for 
their  doings,  their  superstitions,  and  explanations  are  of  prime  importance. 

5.  It  is  desirable  to  obtain  from  the  Indians  their  explanation  of  human 
life,  their  theory  of  spirits  and  of  the  life  to  come. 

A  complete  account  of  these  customs  in  any  tribe  will  necessitate  the 
witnessing  of  many  funeral  rites,  as  the  custom  will  differ  at  the  death  of 
different  persons,  depending  upon  age,  sex,  and  social  standing.  To  obtain 
their  explanations  and  superstitions,  it  will  be  necessary  to  interrogate  the 
Indians  themselves.  This  is  not  an  easy  task,  for  the  Indians  do  not  talk 
with  freedom  about  their  dead.  The  awe  with  which  they  are  inspired, 
their  reverence  and  love  for  the  departed,  and  their  fear  that  knowledge 
which  may  be  communicated  may  be  used  to  the  injury  of  those  whom 
they  have  loved,  or  of  themselves,  lead  them  to  excessive  reticence  on  these 
subjects.  Their  feelings  should  not  be  rudely  wounded.  The  better  and 
more  thoughtful  members  of  the  tribe  will  at  last  converse  freely  on  these 
subjects  with  those  in  whom  they  have  learned  to  place  confidence.  The 
stories  of  ignorant  white  men  and  camp  attache's  should  be  wholly 
discarded,  and  all  accounts  should  be  composed  of  things  actually 
observed,  and  of  relations  made  by  Indians  of  probity. 

This  preliminary  volume  by  Dr.  H.  C  Yarrow  has  been  the  subject  of 
careful  research  and  of  much  observation,  and  will  serve  in  many  ways  as 
a  hint  to  the  student.  The  literature  of  the  subject  is  vast,  but  to  a  large 
extent  worthless,  from  the  fact  that  writers  have  been  hasty  travelers  or 
subjective  speculators  on  the  matter.  It  is  strange  how  much  of  accepted 
history  must  be  rejected  when  the  statements  are  carefully  criticised  and 
compared  with  known  facts.  It  has  frequently  been  stated  of  this  or  that 
tribe  that  mutilations,  as  the  cutting  off  of  fingers  and  toes,  of  ears  and 
nose,  the  pulling  out  of  teeth,  &c.,  are  extensively  practiced  as  a  mode  of 


VI 

mourning,  and  wild  scenes  of  maiming  and  bloodshed  are  depicted  as  fol- 
lowing upon  the  death  of  a  beloved  chief  or  great  man;  yet,  among  these 
tribes  maimed  persons  are  rarely  found.  It  is  probable  that  there  is  some 
basis  of  fact  for  the  statement  that  mutilations  are  in  rare  instances  prac- 
ticed among  some  tribes.  But  even  this  qualified  statement  needs  absolute 
proof. 

I  am  pleased  to  assure  those  who  will  take  part  in  this  work  by  earnest 
and  faithful  research  that  Dr.  Yarrow  will  treat  them  generously  by  giving 
them  full  credit  for  their  work  in  his  final  publication. 

I  must  not  fail  to  present  my  thanks  to  the  Surgeon-General  of  the 
United  States  Army  and  his  corps  of  officers  for  the  interest  and  assistance 
they  have  rendered 

J.  W.  POWELL. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C ,  April  5,  1880. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  offer  for  your  consideration  the  follow- 
ing paper  upon  the  Mortuary  Customs  of  the  North  American  Indians,  and 
trust  it  may  meet  with  your  approval  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  a 
subject  which,  while  it  has  been  alluded  to  by  most  authors,  has  received 
little  or  no  systematic  treatment  For  this  and  other  reasons  I  was  induced 
some  three  years  since  to  commence  an  examination  and  collection  of  data 
relative  to  the  matter,  and  the  present  paper  is  the  outcome  of  that  effort. 
From  the  vast  amount  of  material  in  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  even  at  the 
present  time,  a  large  volume  might  be  prepared,  but  it  was  thought  wiser 
to  endeavor  to  obtain  a  still  greater  array  of  facts,  especially  from  living 
observers.  If  the  desired  end  is  attained  I  shall  not  count  as  lost  the  labor 
which  has  been  bestowed. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  C.  YARROW. 
Maj.  J.  W.  POWELL, 

In  charge  of  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Smithsonian  Institution. 


VII 


"Ifye  wisest  of  kings  tells  us,  il)at  it  is  better  to  go  to  fye  Jdouse  of 
Mourning,  tl?an  to  that  of  laughter.  eflnd  tt)ose  \vl)o  fyave  well  con- 
sider'd  tfye  grounds  fre  fyad  for  tfyis  J)is  judgment,  will  not,  by  tfye  title 
of  tl}is  look  fas  melancholy  as  it  appears J ,  be  affrighted  from  tfye 
perusing  it. 

e  Wfrat  we  read  to  fyave  been,  and  still  to  be,  tye  custom  of  some 
nations,  to  make  sepulchres  tfye  repositories  of  tfyeir  greatest  riches,  is 
(I  am  sure)  universally  true  in  a  moral  sense,  fyowever  it  may  be 
tl)ougl}t  in  the  literal;  tJ^ere  being  never  a  grave  but  wfrat  conceals  a 
treasure,  tfyougl)  all  l)ave  not  tfye  art  to  discover  it.  I  do  not  l)erc 
invite  tfye  covetous  miser  to  disturb  tfre  dead,  w]?o  can  frame  no  idea  of 
treasure  distinct  from  gold  and  silver ;  but  fyim  wfro  knows  tl)at  -wisdom 
and  virtue  are  tfye  true  and  sole  ricfyes  of  man.  Is  not  truth  a  treasure, 
tl)ink  you  ?  'Wfricf?  yet,  ^Democritus  assures  us,  is  buried  in  a  deep  pit 
or  grave;  and  T}e  fyad  reason;  for  whereas  -we  meet  elsewhere  will} 
nothing  but  pain  and  deceit,  we  no  sooner  look  down  into  a  grave,  but 
trutl}  facet})  us,  and  tells  us  our  own." — MUEET. 


IX 


INQUIRIES  AND  SUGGESTIONS 

UPON  THE 

MORTUARY  CUSTOMS   OF  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


BY  H.  C.  YARROW. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  primitive  manners  and  customs  of  the  North  American  Indians 
are  rapidly  passing  away  under  influences  of  civilization  and  other  dis- 
turbing elements.  In  view  of  this  fact,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  all  inter- 
ested in  preserving  a  record  of  these  customs  to  labor  assiduously,  while 
there  is  still  time,  to  collect  such  data  as  may  be  obtainable.  This  seems 
the  more  important  now,  as  within  the  last  ten  years  an  almost  universal 
interest  has  been  awakened  in  ethnologic  research,  and  the  desire  for  more 
knowledge  in  this  regard  is  constantly  increasing.  A  wise  and  liberal 
government,  recognizing  the  need,  has  ably  seconded  the  efforts  of  those 
engaged  in  such  studies  by  liberal  grants  from  the  public  funds  ;  nor  is 
encouragement  wanted  from  the  hundreds  of  scientific  societies  throughout 
the  civilized  globe.  The  public  press,  too — the  mouth-piece  of  the  people — 
is  ever  on  the  alert  to  scatter  broadcast  such  items  of  ethnologic  informa- 
tion as  its  corps  of  well-trained  reporters  can  secure.  To  induce  further 
laudable  inquiry,  and  assist  all  those  who  may  be  willing  to  engage  in  the 
good  work,  is  the  object  of  this  preliminary  work  on  the  mortuary  cus- 
toms of  North  American  Indians,  and  it  is  hoped  that  many  more  laborers 
may  through  it  be  added  to  the  extensive  and  honorable  list  of  those  who 
have  already  contributed. 

It  would  appear  that  the  subject  chosen  should  awaken  great  interest, 

since  the  peculiar  methods  followed  by  different  nations  and  the  great 
1  Y  i 


2  CIRCULAR  OF  QUERIES. 

importance  attached  to  burial  ceremonies  have  formed  an  almost  invariable 
part  of  all  works  relating  to  the  different  peoples  of  our  globe ;  in  fact  no 
particular  portion  of  ethnologic  research  has  claimed  more  attention.  In 
view  of  these  facts,  it  might  seem  almost  a  work  of  supererogation  to  con- 
tinue a  further  examination  of  the  subject,  for  nearly  every  author  in  writ- 
ing of  our  Indian  tribes  makes  some  mention  of  burial  observances ;  but 
these  notices  are  scattered  far  and  wide  on  the  sea  of  this  special  literature, 
and  many  of  the  accounts,  unless  supported  by  corroborative  evidence,  may 
be  considered  as  entirely  unreliable.  To  bring  together  and  harmonize 
conflicting  statements,  and  arrange  collectively  what  is  known  of  the  sub- 
ject has  been  the  writer's  task,  and  an  enormous  mass  of  information  has 
been  acquired,  the  method  of  securing  which  has  been  as  follows  : 

In  the  first  instance  a  circular  was  prepared,  which  is  here  given ; 
this  at  the  time  was  thought  to  embrace  all  items  relating  to  the  disposal 
of  the  dead  and  attendant  ceremonies,  although  since  its  distribution  other 
important  questions  have  arisen  which  will  be  alluded  to  subsequently. 

"  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  15,  1877. 
"To , 

u . 

"  SIR  :  Being  engaged  in  preparing  a  memoir  upon  the  '  Burial  Cus- 
toms of  the  Indians  of  North  America,  both  ancient  and  modern,  and  the 
disposal  of  their  dead/  I  beg  leave  to  request  your  kind  co-operation  to 
enable  me  to  present  as  exhaustive  an  exposition  of  the  subject  as  possible, 
and  to  this  end  earnestly  invite  your  attention  to  the  following  points  in 
regard  to  which  information  is  desired : 

"  1st.  Name  of  the  tribe. 

"2d.  Locality. 

"3d.  Manner  of  burial,  ancient  and  modern. 

"4th.  Funeral  ceremonies. 

"5th.  Mourning  observances,  if  any. 

"With  reference  to  the  first  of  these  inquiries,  '  Name  of  the  tribe,'  the 
Indian  name  is  desired  as  well  as  the  name  by  which  the  tribe  is  known  to 
the  whites. 


CIECULAE  OF  QUERIES.  3 

"As  to  l  Locality/  the  response  should  give  the  range  of  the  tribe,  and 
be  full  and  geographically  accurate. 

"As  to  the  '  Manner  of  burial,'  &c.,  it  is  important  to  have  every  par- 
ticular bearing  on  this  branch  of  the  subject,  and  much  minuteness  is 
desirable. 

"  For  instance : 

"(a)  Was  the  body  buried  in  the  ground;  if  so,  in  what  position,  and 
how  was  the  grave  prepared  and  finished? 

"(&)  If  cremated,  describe  the  process,  and  what  disposal  was  made  of 
the  ashes. 

"(c)  Were  any  utensils,  implements,  ornaments,  &c.,  or  food  placed 
in  the  gravel  In  short,  every  fact  is  sought  that  may  possibly  add  to  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  subject. 

"Answers  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  queries  should  give  as  full  and  suc- 
cinct a  description  as  possible  of  funereal  and  other  mortuary  ceremonies  at 
the  time  of  death  and  subsequently,  the  period  of  mourning,  manner  of  its 
observance,  &c. 

"  In  obtaining  materials  for  the  purpose  in  question  it  is  particularly 
desirable  that  well-authenticated  sources  of  information  only  be  drawn  upon, 
and,  therefore,  any  points  gathered  from  current  rumor  or  mere  hearsay, 
and  upon  which  there  is  doubt,  should  be  submitted  to  searching  scrutiny 
before  being  embraced  in  answers  to  the  several  interrogatories,  and  noth- 
ing should  be  recorded  as  a  fact  until  fully  established  as  such. 

"  In  seeking  information  from  Indians,  it  is  well  to  remember  the  great 
tendency  to  exaggeration  they  show,  and  since  absolute  facts  will  alone 
serve  our  purpose,  great  caution  is  suggested  in  this  particular. 

11  It  is  earnestly  desired  to  make  the  work  in  question  as  complete  as 
possible,  and  therefore  it  is  especially  hoped  that  your  response  will  cover 
the  ground  as  pointed  out  by  the  several  questions  as  thoroughly  as  you 
may  be  able  and  willing  to  make  it. 

"  In  addition  to  notes,  a  reference  to  published  papers  either  by  your- 
self or  others  is  desirable,  as  well  as  the  names  of  those  persons  who  may  be 
able  to  furnish  the  needed  information. 

"  Permit  me  to  assure  you  that,  while  it  is  not  offered  in  the  way  of 


4  INTRODUCTORY. 

inducement  to  secure  the  service  asked,  since  it  is  barely  possible  that  you 
can  be  otherwise  than  deeply  interested  in  the  extension  of  the  bounds  of 
knowledge,  full  credit  will  be  given  you  in  the  work  for  whatever  informa- 
tion you  may  be  pleased  to  furnish. 

"  This  material  will  be  published  under  the  auspices  of  Prof.  J.  W. 
Powell,  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Geographical  and  Geological  Survey  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Region. 

"  Communications  may  be  addressed  to  me  either  at  the  address  given 
above  or  at  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"Respectfully,  yours, 

"H.  C.  YARROW." 

This  was  forwarded  to  every  Indian  agent,  physicians  at  agencies, 
to  a  great  number  of  Army  officers  who  had  served  or  were  serving  at 
frontier  posts,  and  to  individuals  known  to  be  interested  in  ethnologic 
matters.  A  large  number  of  interesting  and  valuable  responses  were  re- 
ceived, many  of  them  showing  how  customs  have  changed  either  under 
influences  of  civilization  or  altered  circumstances  of  environment. 

Following  this,  a  comprehensive  list  of  books  relating  to  North  Ameri- 
can Indians  was  procured,  and  each  volume  subjected  to  careful  scrutiny, 
extracts  being  made  from  those  that  appeared  in  the  writer's  judgment  relia- 
ble. Out  of  a  large  number  examined  up  to  the  present  time,  several  hun- 
dred have  been  laid  under  contribution,  and  the  labor  of  further  collation 
still  continues. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  all  the  material  obtained  will  eventually  be 
embodied  in  a  quarto  volume,  forming  one  of  the  series  of  contributions  to 
North  American  Ethnology  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Maj.  J.  W. 
Powell,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Smithsonian  Institution, 
from  whom,  since  the  inception  of  the  work,  most  constant  encouragement 
and  advice  lias  been  "received,  and  to  whom  all  American  ethnologists  owe  a 
<1»-U  of  gratitude  which  can  never  be  repaid. 

Having  thus  called  attention  to  the  work  and  the  methods  pursued  in 
collecting  data,  the  classification  of  the  subject  may  be  given  and  examples 
furnished  of  the  burial  ceremonies  among  different  tribes,  calling  especial 


INHUMATION— MOHAWKS.  5 

attention  to  similar  or  almost  analogous  customs  among  the  peoples  of  the 
Old  World. 

For  our  present  purpose  the  following  provisional  arrangement  of 
burials  may  be  adopted : 

1  st  By  INHUMATION  in  pits,  graves,  holes  in  the  ground,  mounds,  cists, 
and  caves. 

2d.  By  CREMATION,  generally  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  occasion- 
ally beneath,  the  resulting  bones  or  ashes  being  placed  in  pits,  in  the  ground, 
in  boxes  placed  on  scaffolds  or  trees,  in  urns,  sometimes  scattered. 

3d.  By  EMBALMENT  or  a  process  of  mummifying,  the  remains  being 
afterwards  placed  in  the  earth,  caves,  mounds,  or  charnel-houses. 

4th.  By  AERIAL  SEPULTURE,  the  bodies  being  deposited  on  scaffolds  or 
trees,  in  boxes  or  canoes,  the  two  latter  receptacles  supported  on  scaffolds  or 
posts,  or  on  the  ground.  Occasionally  baskets  have  been  used  to  contain 
the  remains  of  children,  these  being  hung  to  trees. 

5th.  By  AQUATIC  BURIAL,  beneath  the  water,  or  in  canoes,  which  were 
turned  adrift. 

These  heads  might,  perhaps,  be  further  subdivided,  but  the  above  seem 
sufficient  for  all  practical  needs. 

The  use  of  the  term  burial  throughout  this  paper  is  to  be  understood 
in  its  literal  significance,  the  word  being  derived  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
"  birgan"  to  conceal  or  hide  away. 

In  giving  descriptions  of  different  burials  and  attendant  ceremonies,  it 
has  been  deemed  expedient  to  introduce  entire  accounts  as  furnished,  in 
order  to  preserve  continuity  of  narrative. 

INHUMATION. 

The  commonest  mode  of  burial  among  North  American  Indians  has 
been  that  of  interment  in  the  ground,  and  this  has  taken  place  in  a  number 
of  different  ways;  the  following  will,  however,  serve  as  good  examples  of 
the  process: 

"The  Mohawks  of  New  York  made  a  large  round  hole  in  which  the 
body  was  placed  upright  or  upon  its  haunches,  after  which  it  was  covered 
with  timber,  to  support  the  earth  which  they  lay  over,  and  thereby  kept 


6  INHUMATION— CAROLINA  TEIBES. 

the  body  from  being  pressed.  They  then  raised  the  earth  in  a  round  hill 
over  it.  They  always  dressed  the  corpse  in  all  its  finery,  and  put  wampum 
and  otlier  things  into  the  grave  with  it;  and  the  relations  suffered  not  grass 
nor  any  weed  to  grow  upon  the  grave,  and  frequently  visited  it  and  made 
lamentation." 

This  account  may  be  found  in  Schoolcraft.* 

In  Jonesf  is  the  following  interesting  account  from  Lawson,  of  the 
burial  customs  of  the  Indians  formerly  inhabiting  the  Carolinas: 

"Among  the  Carolina  tribes,  the  burial  of  the  dead  was  accompanied 
with  special  ceremonies,  the  expense  and  formality  attendant  upon  the 
funeral  according  with  the  rank  of  the  deceased.  The  corpse  was  first 
placed  in  a  cane  hurdle  and  deposited  in  an  outhouse  made  for  the  purpose, 
where  it  was  suffered  to  remain  for  a  day  and  a  night  guarded  and  mourned 
over  by  the  nearest  relatives  with  disheveled  hair.  Those  who  are  to  offi- 
ciate at  the  funeral  go  into  the  town,  and  from  the  backs  of  the  first  young 
men  they  meet  strip  such  blankets  and  matchcoats  as  they  deem  suitable 
for  their  purpose.  In  these  the  dead  body  is  wrapped  and  then  covered 
with  two  or  three  mats  made  of  rushes  or  cane.  The  coffin  is  made  of 
woven  reeds  or  hollow  canes  tied  fast  at  both  ends.  When  everything  is 
prepared  for  the  interment,  the  corpse  is  carried  from  the  house  in  which 
it  has  been  lying  into  the  orchard  of  peach-trees  and  is  there  deposited  in 
another  hurdle.  Seated  upon  mats  are  there  congregated  the  family  and 
tribe  of  the  deceased  and  invited  guests.  The  medicine  man,  or  conjurer, 
having  enjoined  silence,  then  pronounces  a  funeral  oration,  during  which 
he  recounts  the  exploits  of  the  deceased,  his  valor,  skill,  love  of  country, 
property,  and  influence;  alludes  to  the  void  caused  by  his  death,  and 
counsels  those  who  remain  to  supply  his  place  by  following  in  his  foot- 
steps; pictures  the  happiness  he  will  enjoy  in  the  land  of  spirits  to  which 
he  has  gone,  and  concludes  his  address  by  an  allusion  to  the  prominent 
traditions  of  his  tribe." 

Let  us  here  pause  to  remind  the  reader  that  this  custom  has  prevailed 
throughout  the  civilized  world  up  to  the  present  day — a  custom,  in  the 
opinion  of  many,  "more  honored  in  the  breach  than  the  observance." 

*  Hist.  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,  Ib53,  part  3,  p.  193. 
t  Antici.  of  Southern  Indians.  1H73,  pp.  108-110. 


INHUMATION— WICH1TAS.  7 

"At  last  [says  Mr.  Lawson],  the  corpse  is  brought  away  from  that 
hurdle  to  the  grave  by  four  young  men,  attended  by  the  relations,  the  king, 
old  men,  and  all  the  nation.  When  they  come  to  the  sepulchre,  which  is 
about  six  feet  deep  and  eight  feet  long,  having  at  each  end  (that  is,  at  the 
head  and  foot)  a  light-wood  or  pitch-pine  fork  driven  close  down  the  sides 
of  the  grave  firmly  into  the  ground  (these  two  forks  are  to  contain  a  ridge- 
pole, as  you  shall  understand  presently),  before  they  lay  the  corpse  into 
the  grave,  they  cover  the  bottom  two  or  three  time  over  with  the  bark  of 
trees;  then  they  let  down  the  corpse  (with  two  belts  that  the  Indians  carry 
their  burdens  withal)  very  leisurely  upon  the  said  barks;  then  they  lay 
over  a  pole  of  the  same  wood  in  the  two  forks,  and  having  a  great  many 
pieces  of  pitch-pine  logs  about  two  foot  and  a  half  long,  they  stick  them  in 
the  sides  of  the  grave  down  each  end  and  near  the  top,  through  of  where  (sic) 
the  other  ends  lie  in  the  ridge-pole,  so  that  they  are  declining  like  the  roof 
of  a  house.  These  being  very  thick  placed,  they  cover  them  many  times 
double  with  bark;  then  they  throw  the  earth  thereon  that  came  out  of  the 
grave  and  beat  it  down  very  firm.  By  this  means  the  dead  body  lies  in  a 
vault,  nothing  touching  him.  After  a  time  the  body  is  taken  up,  the  bones 
cleaned,  and  deposited  in  an  ossuary  called  the  Quiogozon." 

Dr.  Fordyce  Grinnell,  physician  to  the  Wichita  Agency,  Indian  Ter- 
ritory, furnishes  the  following  description  of  the  burial  ceremonies  of 
the  Wichita  Indians,  who  call  themselves  a  Kitty-ka-tats"  or  those  of  the 
tattooed  eyelids: 

"When  a  Wichita  dies  the  town-crier  goes  up  and  down  through  the 
village  and  announces  the  fact  Preparations  are  immediately  made  for 
the  burial,  and  the  body  is  taken  without  delay  to  the  grave  prepared  for 
it  reception.  If  the  grave  is  some  distance  from  the  village  the  body  is 
carried  thither- on  the  back  of  a  pony,  being  first  wrapped  in  blankets  and 
then  laid  prone  across  the  saddle,  one  walking  on  either  side  to  support  it. 
The  grave  is  dug  from  3  to  4  feet  deep  and  of  sufficient  length  for  the 
extended  body.  First  blankets  and  buffalo  robes  are  laid  in  the  bottom  of 
the  grave,  then  the  body,  being  taken  from  the  horse  and  unwrapped,  is 
dressed  in  its  best  apparel  and  with  ornaments  is  placed  upon  a  couch  of 
blankets  and  robes,  with  the  head  towards  the  west  and  the  feet  to  the  east; 


8  INHUMATION— CADDOES. 

the  valuables  belonging  to  the  deceased  are  placed  with  the  body  in  the 
grave.  With  the  man  are  deposited  his  bows  and  arrows  or  gun,  and  with 
the  woman  her  cooking  utensils  and  other  implements  of  her  toil  Over 
the  body  sticks  are  placed  six  or  eight  inches  deep  and  grass  over  these,  so 
that  when  the  earth  is  filled  in  it  need  not  come  in  contact  with  the  body 
or  its  trappings.  After  the  grave  is  filled  with  earth  a  pen  of  poles  is  built 
around  it,  or,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  stakes  are  driven  so  that  they  cross 
each  other  from  either  side  about  midway  over  the  grave,  thus  forming  a 
complete  protection  from  the  invasion  of  wild  animals.  After  all  this  is 
done,  the  grass  or  other  debris  is  carefully  scraped  from  about  the  grave 
for  several  feet,  so  that  the  ground  is  left  smooth  and  clean.  It  is  seldom 
the  case  that  the  relatives  accompany  the  remains  to  the  grave,  but  they 
more  often  employ  others  to  bury  the  body  for  them,  usually  women. 
Mourning  is  similar  in  this  tribe  as  in  others,  and  consists  in  cutting  off  the 
hair,  fasting,  &c.  Horses  are  also  killed  at  the  grave." 

The  Caddoes,  Ascena,  or  Timber  Indians,  as  they  call  themselves, 
follow  nearly  the  same  mode  of  burial  as  the  Wichitas,  but  one  custom  pre- 
vailing is  worthy  of  mention. 

"  If  a  Caddo  is  killed  in  battle,  the  body  is  never  buried,  but  is  left  to 
be  devoured  by  beasts  or  birds  of  prey,  and  the  condition  of  such  individ- 
uals in  the  other  world  is  considered  to  be  far  better  than  that  of  persons 
dying  a  natural  death." 

In  a  work  by  Bruhier*  the  following  remarks,  freely  translated  by 
the  writer,  may  be  found,  which  note  a  custom  having  great  similarity  to 
the  exposure  of  bodies  to  wild  beasts  mentioned  above  : 

'  The  ancient  Persians  threw  out  the  bodies  of  their  dead  on  the  roads, 
and  if  they  were  promptly  devoured  by  wild  beasts  it  was  esteemed  a  great 
honor,  a  misfortune  if  not.  Sometimes  they  interred,  always  wrapping  the 
dead  in  a  wax  cloth  to  prevent  odor." 

M.  Pierre  Muret,f  from  whose  book  Bruhier  probably  obtained  his 
information,  gives  at  considerable  length  an  account  of  this  peculiar  method 
of  treating  the  dead  among  the  Persians,  as  follows : 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment,  considering  the  Persians  have  ever  had 

*  L'incertitude  des  Signes  de  la  Mort,  1740,  turn  1,  p.  439. 
t  Rites  of  Fnneral,  Ancient  and  Modern,  1683,  p.  45. 


MOKTUAKY  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  PEESIANS.  9 

the  renown  of  being-  one  of  the  most  civilized  Nations  in  the  world,  that 
notwithstanding  they  should  have  used  such  barbarous  customs  about  the 
Dead  as  are  set  down  in  the  Writings  of  some  Historians  ;  and  the  rather 
because  at  this  day  there  are  still  to  be  seen  among  them  those  remains 
of  Antiquity,  which  do  fully  satisfie  us,  that  their  Tombs  have  been  very 
magnificent.  And  yet  nevertheless,  if  we  will  give  credit  to  Procopius  and 
Agathias,  the  Persians  were  never  wont  to  bury  their  Dead  Bodies,  so  far 
were  they  from  bestowing  any  Funeral  Honours  upon  them :  But,  as  these 
Authors  tell  us,  they  exposed  them  stark  naked  in  the  open  fields,  which  is 
the  greatest  shame  our  Laws  do  allot  to  the  most  infamous  Criminals,  by 
laying  them  open  to  the  view  of  all  upon  the  highways :  Yea,  in  their 
opinion  it  was  a  great  unhappiness,  if  either  Birds  or  Beasts  did  not  devour 
their  Carcases ;  and  they  commonly  made  an  estimate  of  the  Felicity  of 
these  poor  Bodies,  according  as  they  were  sooner  or  later  made  a  prey  of. 
Concerning  these,  they  resolved  that  they  must  needs  have  been  very  bad 
indeed,  since  even  the  beasts  themselves  would  not  touch  them;  which 
caused  an  extream  sorrow  to  their  Relations,  they  taking  it  for  an  ill  bod- 
ing to  their  Family,  and  an  infallible  presage  of  some  great  misfortune 
hanging  over  their  heads ;  for  they  persuaded  themselves,  that  the  Souls 
which  inhabited  those  Bodies  being  dragg'd  into  Hell,  would  not  fail  to 
come  and  trouble  them;  and  that  being  always  accompanied  with  the 
Devils,  their  Tormentors,  they  would  certainly  give  them  a  great  deal  of 
disturbance. 

"And  on  the  contrary,  when  these  Corpses  were  presently  devoured, 
their  joy  was  very  great,  they  enlarged  themselves  in  praises  of  the  De- 
ceased ;  every  one  esteeming  them  undoubtedly  happy,  and  came  to  con- 
gratulate their  relations  on  that  account :  For  as  they  believed  assuredly, 
that  they  were  entered  into  the  Elysian  Fields,  so  they  were  persuaded, 
that  they  would  procure  the  same  bliss  for  all  those  of  their  family. 

"  They  also  took  a  great  delight  to  see  Skeletons  and  Bones  scatered 
up  and  down  in  the  fields,  whereas  we  can  scarcely  endure  to  see  those  of 
Horses  and  Dogs  used  so.  And  these  remains  of  Humane  Bodies,  (the 
sight  whereof  gives  us  so  much  horror,  that  we  presently  bury  them  out  of 
our  sight,  whenever  we  find  them  elsewhere  than  in  Charnel-houses  or 


JO  INHUMATION— KLAMATHS. 

Church-yards)  were  the  occasion  of  their  greatest  joy ;  because  they  con- 
cluded from  thence  the  happiness  of  those  that  had  been  devoured,  wishing 
after  their  Death  to  meet  with  the  like  good  luck." 

The  same  author  states,  and  Bruhier  corroborates  the  assertion,  that 
the  Parthians,  Medes,  Iberians,  Caspians,  and  a  few  others,  had  such  a  hor- 
ror and  aversion  of  the  corruption  and  decomposition  of  the  dead,  and  of 
their  being  eaten  by  worms,  that  they  threw  out  the  bodies  into  the  open 
fields  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  a  part  of  their  belief  being  that  per- 
sons so  devoured  would  not  be  entirely  extinct,  but  enjoy  at  least  a  par- 
tial sort  of  life  in  their  living  sepulchres.  It  is  quite  probable  that  for  these 
and  other  reasons  the  Bactrians  and  Hircanians  trained  dogs  for  this  special 
purpose,  called  Canes  sepukhrales,  which  received  the  greatest  care  and  at- 
tention, for  it  was  deemed  proper  that  the  souls  of  the  deceased  should 
have  strong  and  lusty  frames  to  dwell  in. 

George  Gibbs*  gives  the  following  account  of  burial  among  the  Kla- 
math  and  Trinity  Indians  of  the  Northwest  coast : 

"The  graves,  which  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  houses, 
exhibit  very  considerable  taste  and  a  laudable  care.  The  dead  are  inclosed 
in  rude  coffins  formed  by  placing  four  boards  around  the  body,  and  covered 
with  earth  to  some  depth ;  a  heavy  plank,  often  supported  by  upright  head 
and  foot  stones,  is  laid  upon  the  top,  or  stones  are  built  up  into  a  wall 
about  a  foot  above  the  ground,  and  the  top  flagged  with  others  The 
graves  of  the  chiefs  are  surrounded  by  neat  wooden  palings,  each  pale 
ornamented  with  a  feather  from  the  tail  of  the  bald  eagle.  Baskets  are 
usually  staked  down  by  the  side,  according  to  the  wealth  or  popularity  of 
the  individual,  and  sometimes  other  articles  for  ornament  or  use  are  sus- 
pended over  them.  The  funeral  ceremonies  occupy  three  days,  during 
which  the  soul  of  the  deceased  is  in  danger  from  0-mah-d  or  the  devil.  To 
preserve  it  from  this  peril,  a  fire  is  kept  up  at  the  grave,  and  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  howl  around  it  to  scare  away  the  demon.  Should  they  not 
be  successful  in  this  the  soul  is  carried  down  the  river,  subject,  however,  to 
redemption  by  Prh-ho-wan  on  payment  of  a  big  knife.  After  the  expiration 
of  three  days  it  is  all  well  with  them." 

*  Schoolcraft'H  Hint.  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,  Pt.  :?, 1853,  p.  140. 


INHUMATION— PIM AS  AND  APACHES.  1 1 

The  question  may  well  be  asked,  is  the  big  knife  a  "  sop  to  Cer- 
berus"? 

Capt.  F.  E.  Grossman,*  U.  S.  A.,  furnishes  the  following  account  of 
burial  among  the  Pimas  of  Arizona  : 

"  The  Pimas  tie  the  bodies  of  their  dead  with  ropes,  passing  the  latter 
around  the  neck  and  under  the  knees  and  then  drawing  them  tight  until 
the  body  is  doubled  up  and  forced  into  a  sitting  position.  They  dig  the 
grave  from  four  to  five  feet  deep  and  perfectly  round  (about  two  feet  in 
diameter),  then  hollow  out  to  one  side  of  the  bottom  of  this  grave  a  sort  of 
vault  large  enough  to  contain  the  body.  Here  the  body  is  deposited,  the 
grave  is  filled  up  level  with  the  ground,  and  poles,  trees,  or  pieces  of  timber 
placed  upon  the  grave  to  protect  the  remains  from  the  coyotes  (a  species  of 
wolf).  Burials  usually  take  place  at  night,  without  much  ceremony.  The 
mourners  chant  during  the  burial,  but  signs  of  grief  are  rare.  The  bodies 
of  their  dead  are  buried,  if  possible,  immediately  after  death  has  taken  place, 
and  the  graves  are  generally  prepared  before  the  patients  die.  Sometimes 
sick  persons  (for  whom  the  graves  had  already  been  dug)  recovered ;  in 
such  cases  the  graves  are  left  open  until  the  persons  for  whom  they  were 
intended  die.  Open  graves  of  this  kind  can  be  seen  in  several  of  their 
burial-grounds.  Places  of  burial  are  selected  some  distance  from  the  vil- 
lage, and,  if  possible,  in  a  grove  of  mesquite  bushes  Immediately  after  the 
remains  have  been  buried,  the  house  and  personal  effects  of  the  deceased 
are  burned,  and  his  horses  and  cattle  killed,  the  meat  being  cooked  as  a* 
repast  for  the  mourners.  The  nearest  relatives  of  the  deceased,  as  a  sign 
of  their  sorrow,  remain  in  the  village  for  weeks  and  sometimes  months  ;  the 
men  cut  off  about  six  inches  of  their  long  hair,  while  the  women  cut  their 
hair  quite  short." 

The  Coyotero  Apaches,  according  to  Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman,f  in  disposing 
of  their  dead,  seem  to  be  actuated  by  the  desire  to  spare  themselves  any 
needless  trouble,  and  prepare  the  defunct  and  the  grave  in  this  manner : 

"  The  Coyoteros,  upon  the  death  of  a  member  of  the  tribe,  partially 
wrap  up  the  corpse  and  deposit  it  into  the  cavity  left  by  the  removal  of  a 

*  Eep.  Smitbson.  Inst.,  1871,  p.  414. 

t  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  of  Terr,  for  187C,  p.  473. 


12  INHUMATION— MASSASAUGAS. 

small  rock  or  the  stump  of  a  tree.  After  the  body  has  been  crammed  into 
the  smallest  possible  space  the  rock  or  stump  is  again  rolled  into  its  former 
position,  when  a  number  of  stones  are  placed  around  the  base  to  keep  out 
the  coyotes.  The  nearest  of  kin  usually  mourn  for  the  period  of  one  month, 
during  that  time  giving  utterance  at  intervals  to  the  most  dismal  lamenta- 
tions, which  are  apparently  sincere.  During  the  day  this  obligation  is  fre- 
quently neglected  or  forgotten,  but  when  the  mourner  is  reminded  of  his 
duty  he  renews  his  howling  with  evident  interest.  This  custom  of  mourn- 
ing for  the  period  of  thirty  days  corresponds  to  that  formerly  observed  by 
the  Natchez." 

Somewhat  similar  to  this  rude  mode  of  sepulture  is  that  described  in 
the  life  of  Moses  Van  Campen,  which  relates  to  the  Indians  formerly  inhab- 
iting Pennsylvania : 

"  Directly  after  the  Indians  proceeded  to  bury  those  who  had  fallen  in 
battle,  which  they  did  by  rolling  an  old  log  from  its  place  and  laying  the 
body  in  the  hollow  thus  made,  and  then  heaping  upon  it  a  little  earth." 

As  a  somewhat  curious,  if  not  exceptional,  interment,  the  following  ac- 
count, relating  to  the  Indians  of  New  York  is  furnished,  by  Mr.  Franklin  B. 
Hough,  who  has  extracted  it  from  an  unpublished  journal  of  the  agents  of 
a  French  company  kept  in  1794 : 

"  Saw  Indian  graves  on  the  plateau  of  Independence  Rock.  The  In- 
dians plant  a  stake  on  the  right  side  of  the  head  of  the  deceased  and  bury 
them  in  a  bark  canoe.  Their  children  come  every  year  to  bring  provisions 
to  the  place  where  their  fathers  are  buried.  One  of  the  graves  had  fallen  in 
and  we  observed  in  the  soil  some  sticks  for  stretching  skins,  the  remains  of 
a  canoe,  &c.,  and  the  two  straps  for  carrying  it,  and  near  the  place  where 
the  head  lay  were  the  traces  of  a  fire  which  they  had  kindled  for  the  soul 
of  the  deceased  to  come  and  warm  itself  by  and  to  partake  of  the  food 
deposited  near  it. 

'  These  were  probably  the  Massasauga  Indians,  then  inhabiting  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  but  who  were  rather  intruders  here,  the  coun- 
try being  claimed  by  the  Oneidas." 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  use  of  canoes  for  coffins  has  occasion- 
ally been  remarked,  for  the  writer  in  1875  removed  from  the  graves  at  Santa 


INHUMATION  IN  CANOES  13 

Barbara  an  entire  skeleton  which  was  discovered  in  a  redwood  canoe,  but 
it  is  thought  that  the  individual  may  have  been  a  noted  fisherman,  particu- 
larly as  the  implements  of  his  vocation — nets,  fish-spears,  &c. — were  near 
him,  and  this  burial  was  only  an  exemplification  of  the  well-rooted  belief 
common  to  all  Indians,  that  the  spirit  in  the  next  world  makes  use  of  the 
same  articles  as  were  employed  in  this  one.  It  should  be  added  that  of  the 
many  hundreds  of  skeletons  uncovered  at  Santa  Barbara  the  one  mentioned 
presented  the  only  example  of  the  kind. 

Among  the  Indians  of  the  Mosquito  coast,  in  Central  America,  canoe 
burial  in  the  ground,  according  to  Bancroft*,  was  common,  and  is  thus 
described : 

"  The  corpse  is  wrapped  in  cloth  and  placed  in  one-half  of  a  pit-pan 
which  has  been  cut  in  two.  Friends  assemble  for  the  funeral  and  drown 
their  grief  in  muslila,  the  women  giving  vent  to  their  sorrow  by  dashing 
themselves  on  the  ground  until  covered  with  blood,  and  inflicting  other  tor- 
tures, occasionally  even  committing  suicide.  As  it  is  supposed  that  the  evil 
spirit  seeks  to  obtain  possession  of  the  body,  musicians  are  called  in  to  lull 
it  to  sleep  while  preparations  are  made  for  its  removal.  All  at  once  four 
naked  men,  who  have  disguised  themselves  with  paint  so  as  not  to  be  recog- 
nized and  punished  by  Wulasha,  rush  out  from  a  neighboring  hut,  and,  seiz- 
ing a  rope  attached  to  the  canoe,  drag  it  into  the  woods,  followed  by  the 
music  and  the  crowd.  Here  the  pitpan  is  lowered  into  the  grave  with  bow, 
arrow,  spear,  paddle,  and  other  implements  to  serve  the  departed  in  the  land 
beyond  ;  then  the  other  half  of  the  boat  is  placed  over  the  body.  A  rude 
hut  is  constructed  over  the  grave,  serving  as  a  receptacle  for  the  choice 
food,  drink,  and  other  articles  placed  there  from  time  to  time  by  relatives." 

BURIAL  IN  CABINS,  WIGWAMS,  OR  HOUSES. 

While  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  similitude  between  the  above-noted 
methods  and  the  one  to  be  mentioned  subsequently — lodge  burial — they 
differ,  inasmuch  as  the  latter  are  examples  of  surface  or  aerial  burial,  and 
must  consequently  fall  under  another  caption.  The  narratives  which  are 
now  to  be  given  afford  a  clear  idea  of  the  former  kind  of  burial. 

*  Native  Races  of  Pacific  States,  1874,  vol.  1,  p.  744. 


14  INHUMATION— :NAVAJOS. 

Bartram*   relates  the   following  regarding  the    Muscogulges  of    the 

Carolinas : 

"The  Muscogulges  bury  their  deceased  in  the  earth;  they  dig  a  four- 
foot,  square,  deep  pit  under  the  cabin,  or  couch  which  the  deceased  laid  on 
in  his  house,  lining  the  grave  with  cypress  bark,  when  they  place  the  corpse 
in  a  sitting  posture,  as  if  it  were  alive,  depositing  with  him  his  gun,  toma- 
hawk, pipe,  and  such  other  matters  as  he  had  the  greatest  value  for  in  his 
lifetime.  His  eldest  wife,  or  the  queen  dowager,  has  the  second  choice  of 
his  possessions,  and  the  remaining  effects  are  divided  among  his  other  wives 
and  children." 

According  to  Bernard  Eoman,  the  "funeral  customs  of  the  Chickasaws 
did  not  differ  materially  from  those  of  the  Muscogulges.  They  interred  the 
dead  as  soon  as  the  breath  left  the  body,  and  beneath  the  couch  in  which 
the  deceased  expired." 

The  Navajos  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  a  tribe  living  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  Chickasaws,  follow  somewhat  similar  customs,  as  related 
by  Dr.  John  Menard,  formerly  a  physician  to  their  agency: 

"The  Navajo  custom  is  to  leave  the  body  where  it  dies,  closing  up  the 
house  or  hogan  or  covering  the  body  with  stones  or  brush.  In  case  the 
body  is  removed,  it  is  taken  to  a  cleft  in  the  rocks  and  thrown  in,  and 
stones  piled  over.  The  person  touching  or  carrying  the  body,  first  takes 
off  all  his  clothes  and  afterwards  washes  his  body  with  water  before  putting 
them  on  or  mingling  with  the  living.  When  a  body  is  removed  from  a 
house  or  hogan,  the  hogan  is  burned  down,  and  the  place  in  every  case 
abandoned,  as  the  belief  is  that  the  devil  comes  to  the  place  of  death  and 
remains  where  a  dead  body  is.  Wild  animals  frequently  (indeed,  generally) 
get  the  bodies,  and  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  pick  up  skulls  and  bones 
around  old  camping  grounds,  or  where  the  dead  are  laid.  In  case  it  is  not 
desirable  to  abandon  a  place,  the  sick  person  is  left  out  in  some  lone  spot 
protected  by  brush,  where  they  are  either  abandoned  to  their  fate  or  food 
brought  to  them  until  they  die.  This  is  done  only  when  all  hope  is  gone. 
1  have  found  bodies  thus  left  so  well  inclosed  with  brush  that  wild  animals 


Bartram's  Travels,  1791,  pp.  515. 


STONE  GRAVES  OR  CISTS.  15 

were  unable  to  get  at  them;  and  one  so  left  to  die  was  revived  by  a  cup 
of  coffee  from  our  house  and  is  still  living  and  well." 

Mr.  J.  L.  Burchard,  agent  to  the  Round  Valley  Indians  of  California, 
furnishes  an  account  of  burial  somewhat  resembling  that  of  the  Navajos: 

"When  I  first  came  here  the  Indians  would  dig  a  round  hole  in  the 
ground,  draw  up  the  knees  of  the  deceased  Indian,  and  wrap  the  body  into 
as  small  a  bulk  as  possible  in  blankets,  tie  them  firmly  with  cords,  place 
them  in  the  grave,  throw  in  beads,  baskets,  clothing,  everything  owned  by 
the  deceased,  and  often  donating  much  extra;  all  gathered  around  the  grave 
wailing  most  pitifully,  tearing  their  faces  with  their  nails  till  the  blood 
would  run  down  their  cheeks,  pull  out  their  hair,  and  such  other  heathenish 
conduct.  These  burials  were  generally  made  under  their  thatch  houses  or 
very  near  thereto.  The  house  where  one  died  was  always  torn  down, 
removed,  rebuilt,  or  abandoned.  The  wailing,  talks,  &c.,  were  in  their 
own  jargon;  none  else  could  understand,  and  they  seemingly  knew  but 
little  of  its  meaning  (if  there  was  any  meaning  in  it);  it  simply  seemed  to 
be  the  promptings  of  grief,  without  sufficient  intelligence  to  direct  any 
ceremony;  each  seemed  to  act  out  his  own  impulse." 

STONE  GEAVES  OE  CISTS. 

These  are  of  considerable  interest,  not  only  from  their  somewhat  rare 
occurrence,  except  in  certain  localities,  but  from  the  manifest  care  taken  by 
the  survivors  to  provide  for  the  dead  what  they  considered  a  suitable  resting- 
place.  A  number  of  cists  have  been  found  in  Tennessee,  and  are  thus 
described  by  Moses  Fiske:* 

"There  are  many  burying  grounds  in  West  Tennessee  with  regular 
graves.  They  dug  them  12  or  18  inches  deep,  placed  slabs  at  the  bottom 
ends  and  sides,  forming  a  kind  of  stone  coffin,  and,  after  laying  in  the  body, 
covered  it  over  with  earth." 

'  It  may  be  added  that,  in  1873,  the  writer  assisted  at  the  opening  of  a 
number  of  graves  of  men  of  the  reindeer  period,  near  Solutrd,  in  France, 
and  they  were  almost  identical  in  construction  with  those  described  by  Mr. 
Fiske,  with  the  exception  that  the  latter  were  deeper;  this,  however,  may 

*  Trans.  Amer.  Aiitiq.  Soc.  1820,  vol.  1,  p.  302. 


]G  STONE  GEAVES  OE  CISTS. 

be  accounted  for  if  it  is  considered  how  great  a  deposition  of  earth  may 
have  taken  place  during  the  many  centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  the 
burial.  Many  of  the  graves  explored  by  the  writer  in  1875,  at  Santa  Bar- 
bara, resembled  somewhat  cist  graves,  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  pit  being 
lined  with  large  flat  stones,  but  there  were  none  directly  over  the  skeletons. 

The  next  account  is  by  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell,  the  result  of  his  observation 
in  Tennessee: 

"  These  ancient  cemeteries  are  exceedingly  abundant  throughout  the 
State;  often  hundreds  of  graves  may  be  found  on  a  single  hillside.  In 
some  places  the  graves  are  scattered  and  in  others  collected  in  mounds, 
each  mound  being  composed  of  a  large  number  of  cist  graves.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  mounds  were  not  constructed  at  one  time,  but  the  whole  col- 
lection of  graves  therein  was  made  during  long  periods  by  the  addition  of 
a  new  grave  from  time  to  time.  In  the  first  burials  found  at  the  bottom 
and  near  the  center  of  a  mound  a  tendency  to  a  concentric  system,  with 
the  feet  inward,  is  observed,  and  additions  are  made  around  and  above 
these  first  concentric  graves ;  as  the  mound  increases  in  size  the  burials 
become  more  and  more  irregular. 

"  Some  other  peculiarities  are  of  interest.  A  larger  number  of  inter- 
ments exhibit  the  fact  that  the  bodies  were  placed  there  before  the  decay 
of  the  flesh,  while  in  other  cases  collections  of  bones  are  buried.  Some- 
times these  bones  were  placed  in  some  order  about  the  crania,  and  sometimes 
in  irregular  piles,  as  if  the  collection  of  bones  had  been  emptied  from  a  sack. 
With  men,  pipes,  stone  hammers,  knives,  arrowheads,  &c.,  were  usually 
found ;  with  women,  pottery,  rude  beads,  shells,  &c. ;  with  children,  toys 
of  pottery,  beads,  curious  pebbles,  &c. 

"  Sometimes,  in  the  subsequent  burials,  the  side  slab  of  a  previous 
burial  was  used  as  a  portion  of  the  second  cist.  All  of  the  cists  were 
covered  with  slabs." 

Dr.  Jones  has  given  an  exceedingly  interesting  account  of  the  stone 
graves  of  Tennessee,  in  his  volume  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, to  which  valuable  work*  the  reader  is  referred  for  a  more  detailed 
account  of  this  mode  of  burial. 

•  A  in  i.,ui  t  i.-s  of  Tennessee.     Cont.  to  Knowledge.     Smith.  Inat.,  1876,  No.  259,  4°,  pp.  1,  8,  37,  52, 


MOUND  BUEIAL— MISSOURI.  17 

BUEIAL  IN  MOUNDS. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  subject  of  mound-burial  is  so  extensive, 
and  that  in  all  probability  a  volume  by  a  member  of  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology may  shortly  be  published,  it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  devote  any 
considerable  space  to  it  in  this  paper,  but  a  few  interesting  examples  may 
be  noted  to  serve  as  indications  to  future  observers. 

The  first  to  which  attention  is  directed  is  interesting  as  resembling  cist- 
burial  combined  with  deposition  in  mounds.  The  communication  is  from 
Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology,  Cam- 
bridge, made  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  and  is  published  in 
volume  XX  of  its  proceedings,  October  15,  1878  : 

u  *  *  *  jje  then  gtated  that  it  would  be  of  interest  to  the  mem- 
bers, in  connection  with  the  discovery  of  dolmens  in  Japan,  as  described 
by  Professor  Morse,  to  know  that  within  twenty-four  hours  there  had  been 
received  at  the  Peabody  Museum  a  small  collection  of  articles  taken  from 
rude  dolmens  (or  chambered  barrows,  as  they  would  be  called  in  England), 
recently  opened  by  Mr.  E.  Curtiss,  who  is  now  engaged,  under  his  direc- 
tion, in  exploration  for  the  Peabody  Museum. 

"  These  chambered  mounds  are  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of  Clay 
County,  Missouri,  and  form  a  large  group  on  both  sides  of  the  Missouri 
River.  The  chambers  are,  in  the  three  opened  by  Mr.  Curtiss,  about  8 
feet  square,  and  from  4J  to  5  feet  high,  each  chamber  having  a  passage- 
way several  feet  in  length  and  2  in  width  leading  from  the  southern  side 
and  opening  on  the  edge  of  the  mound  formed  by  covering  the  chamber 
and  passage-way  with  earth.  The  walls  of  the  chambered  passages  were 
about  2  feet  thick,  vertical,  and  well  made  of  stones,  which  were  evenly 
laid  without  clay  or  mortar  of  any  kind.  The  top  of  one  of  the  chambers 
had  a  covering  of  large,  flat  rocks,  but  the  others  seem  to  have  been  closed 
over  with  wood.  The  chambers  were  filled  with  clay  which  had  been 
burnt,  and  appeared  as  if  it  had  fallen  in  from  above.  The  inside  walls  of 
the  chambers  also  showed  signs  of  fire.  Under  the  burnt  clay,  in  each 
chamber,  were  found  the  remains  of  several  human  skeletons,  all  of  which 
had  been  burnt  to  such  an  extent  as  to  leave  but  small  fragments  of  the 
bones,  which  were  mixed  with  the  ashes  and  charcoal.  Mr.  Curtiss  thought 

2  Y 


18  MOUND  BURIAL— TENNESSEE. 

that  in  one  chamber  he  found  the  remains  of  5  skeletons  and  in  another  1 3. 
With  these  skeletons  there  were  a  few  flint  implements  and  minute  frag- 
ments of  vessels  of  clay. 

"A  large  mound  near  the  chambered  mounds  was  also  opened,  but  in 
this  no  chambers  were  found.  Neither  had  the  bodies  been  burnt.  This 
mound  proved  remarkably  rich  in  large  flint  implements,  and  also  contained 
well-made  pottery  and  a  peculiar  "gorget"  of  red  stone.  The  connection 
of  the  people  who  placed  the  ashes  of  their  dead  in  the  stone  chambers 
with  those  who  buried  their  dead  in  the  earth  mounds  is,  of  course,  yet  to 
be  determined." 

It  is  quite  possible,  indeed  probable,  that  these  chambers  were  used  for 
secondary  burials,  the  bodies  having  first  been  cremated. 

In  the  volume  of  the  proceedings  already  quoted  the  same  investigator 
gives  an  account  of  other  chambered  mounds  which  are,  like  the  preceding, 
very  interesting,  the  more  so  as  adults  only  were  inhumed  therein,  children 
having  been  buried  beneath  the  dwelling-floors  : 

"  Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam  occupied  the  rest  of  the  evening  with  an  account 
of  his  explorations  of  the  ancient  mounds  and  burial  places  in  the  Cumber- 
land Valley,  Tennessee. 

"The  excavations  had  been  carried  on  by  himself,  assisted  by  Mr.  Edwin 
Curtiss,  for  over  two  years,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Cam- 
bridge. During  this  time  many  mounds  of  various  kinds  had  been  thor- 
oughly explored,  and  several  thousand  of  the  singular  stone  graves  of  the 
mound  builders  of  Tennessee  had  been  carefully  opened.-  *  *  *  Mr.  Put- 
nam's remarks  were  illustrated  by  drawings  of  several  hundred  objects  ob- 
tained from  the  graves  and  mounds,  particularly  to  show  the  great  variety  of 
articles  of  .pottery  and  several  large  and  many  unique  forms  of  implements  of 
chipped  flint.  He  also  exhibited  and  explained  in  detail  a  map  of  a  walled 
town  of  this  old  nation.  This  town  was  situated  on  the  Lindsley  estate,  in 
a  bend  of  Spring  Creek.  The  earth  embankment,  with  its  accompanying 
ditch,  encircled  an  area  of  about  12  acres.  Within  this  in  closure  there  was 
one  large  mound  with  a  flat  top,  15  feet  high,  130  feet  long,  and  90  feet 
wide,  which  was  found  not  to  be  a  burial  mound.  Another  mound  near 
flu-  large  one,  about  50  feet  in  diameter,  and  only  a  few  feet  high,  cori- 


MOUND  BTJEIAL— TENNESSEE.  19 

tained  60  human  skeletons,  each  in  a  carefully-made  stone  grave,  the 
graves  being  arranged  in  two  rows,  forming  the  four  sides  of  a  square,  and 
in  three  layers.  *  *  *  The  most  important  discovery  he  made  within 
the  inclosure  was  that  of  finding  the  remains  of  the  houses  of  the  people 
who  lived  in  this  old  town.  Of  them  about  70  were  traced  out  and  located 
on  the  map  by  Professor  Buchanan,  of  Lebanon,  who  made  the  survey  for 
Mr.  Putnam.  Under  the  floors  of  hard  clay,  which  was  in  places  much 
burnt,  Mr.  Putnam  found  the  graves  of  children.  As  only  the  bodies  of 
adults  had  been  placed  in  the  one  mound  devoted  to  burial,  and  as  nearly 
every  site  of  a  house  he  explored  had  from  one  to  four  graves  of  children 
under  the  clay  floor,  he  was  convinced  that  it  was  a  regular  custom  to 
bury  the  children  in  that  way.  He  also  found  that  the  children  had  been 
undoubtedly  treated  with  affection,  as  in  their  small  graves  were  found 
many  of  the  best  pieces  of  pottery  he  obtained,  and  also  quantities  of  shell- 
beads,  several  large  pearls,  and  many  other  objects  which  were  probably 
the  playthings  of  the  little  ones  while  living.* 

This  cist  mode  of  burial  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Tennessee,  as 
they  are  frequently  mentioned  by  writers  on  North  American  archaeology. 

The  examples  which  follow  are  specially  characteristic,  some  of  them 
serving  to  add  strength  to  the  theory  that  mounds  were  for  the  most  part 
used  for  secondary  burial,  although  intrusions  were  doubtless  common. 

Of  the  burial  mounds  of  Ohio,  Caleb  Atwaterf  gives  this  description : 

"Near  the  center  of  the  round  fort  *  *  *  was  a  tumulus  of  earth 
about  10  feet  in  height  and  several  rods  in  diameter  at  its  base.  On  its 
eastern  side,  and  extending  six  rods  from  it,  was  a  semicircular  pavement 
composed  of  pebbles  such  as  are  now  found  in  the  bed  of  the  Scioto  River, 
from  whence  they  appear  to  have  been  brought.  The  summit  of  this 
tumulus  was  nearly  30  feet  in  diameter,  and  there  was  a  raised  way  to  it, 
leading  from  the  east,  like  a  modern  turnpike.  The  summit  was  level. 
The  outline  of  the  semicircular  pavement  and  the  walk  is  still  discernible. 
The  earth  composing  this  mound  was  entirely  removed  several  years  since. 

*A  detailed  account  of  this  exploration,  with  many  illustrations,  will  bo  found  in  the  Eleventh 
Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  1878. 
t  Trans.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  1820,  i,  p.  174  et  scq. 


20  MOUND  BUEIAL— OHIO. 

The  writer  was  present  at  its  removal  and  carefully  examined  the  contents. 
It  contained — 

"  1st.  Two  human  skeletons  lying  on  what  had  been  the  original  sur- 
face of  the  earth. 

"2d.  A  great  quantity  of  arrow-heads,  some  of  which  were  so  large 
as  to  induce  a  belief  that  they  were  used  as  spear-heads. 

"3d.  The  handle  either  of  a  small  sword  or  a  large  knife,  made  of  an 
elk's  horn.  Around  the  end  where  the  blade  had  been  inserted  was  a  ferule 
of  silver,  which,  though  black,  was  not  much  injured  by  time.  Though 
the  handle  showed  the  hole  where  the  blade  had  been  inserted,  yet  no  iron 
was  found,  but  an  oxyde  remained  of  similar  shape  and  size. 

"4th.  Charcoal  and  wood  ashes  on  which  these  articles  lay,  which  were 
surrounded  by  several  bricks  very  well  burnt.  The  skeleton  appeared  to 
have  been  burned  in  a  large  and  very  hot  fire,  which  had  almost  consumed 
the  bones  of  the  deceased.  This  skeleton  was  deposited  a  little  to  the 
south  of  the  center  of  the  tumulus;  and  about  20  feet  to  the  north  of  it 
was  another,  with  which  were — 

"5th.  A  large  mirrour  about  3  feet  in  breadth  and  1 J  inches  in  thick- 
ness. This  mirrour  was  of  isinglass  (mica  membranacea),  and  on  it — 

"  6th.  A  plate  of  iron  which  had  become  an  oxyde,  but  before  it  was 
disturbed  by  the  spade  resembled  a  plate  of  cast  iron.  The  mirrour  answered 
the  purpose  very  well  for  which  it  was  intended.  This  skeleton  had  also 
been  burned  like  the  former,  and  lay  on  charcoal  and  a  considerable 
quantity  of  wood  ashes.  A  part  of  the  mirrour  is  in  my  possession,  as  well 
as  a  piece  of  brick  taken  from  the  spot  at  the  time.  The  knife  or  sword 
handle  was  sent  to  Mr.  Peal's  Museum  at  Philadelphia. 

'  To  the  southwest  of  this  tumulus,  about  40  rods  from  it,  is  another, 
more  than  90  feet  in  height,  which  is  shown  on  the  plate  representing  these 
works.  It  stands  on  a  large  hill,  which  appears  to  be  artificial.  This  must 
have  been  the  common  cemetery,  as  it  contains  an  immense  number  of 
human  skeletons  of  all  sizes  and  ages.  The  skeletons  are  laid  horizontally, 
with  their  heads  generally  towards  the  center  and  the  feet  towards  the  out- 
side of  the  tumulus.  A  considerable  part  of  this  work  still  stands  uninjured, 
except  by  time.  In  it  have  been  found,  besides  these  skeletons,  stone  axes 


MOUND  BURIAL— OHIO.  21 

and  knives  and  several  ornaments,  with  holes  through  them,  by  means  of 
which,  with  a  cord  passing  through  these  perforations  they  could  be  worn  by 
their  owners.  On  the  south  side  of  this  tumulus,  and  not  far  from  it,  was 
a  semicircular  fosse,  which,  when  I  first  saw  it,  was  6  feet  deep.  On  open- 
ing it  was  discovered  at  the  bottom  a  great  quantity  of  human  bones, 
which  I  am  inclined  to  believe  were  the  remains  of  those  who  had  been 
slain  in  some  great  and  destructive  battle:  first,  because  they  belonged 
to  persons  who  had  attained  their  full  size,  whereas  in  the  mound  adjoining 
were  found  the  skeletons  of  persons  of  all  ages;  and,  secondly,  they  were 
here  in  the  utmost  confusion,  as  if  buried  in  a  hurry.  May  we  not  con- 
jecture that  they  belonged  to  the  people  who  resided  in  the  town,  and  who 
were  victorious  in  the  engagement  1  Otherwise  they  would  not  have  been 
thus  honorably  buried  in  the  common  cemetery. 

CHILLICOTHE    MOUND. 

"Its  perpendicular  height  was  about  15  feet,  and  the  diameter  of  its 
base  about  60  feet.  It  was  composed  of  sand  and  contained  human  bones 
belonging  to  skeletons  which  were  buried  in  different  parts  of  it.  It  was 
not  until  this  pile  of  earth  was  removed  and  the  original  surface  exposed 
to  view  that  a  probable  conjecture  of  its  original  design  could  be  formed. 
About  20  feet  square  of  the  surface  had  been  leveled  and  covered  with 
bark.  On  the  center  of  this  lay  a  human  skeleton,  over  which  had  been 
spread  a  mat  manufactured  either  from  weeds  or  bark.  On  the  breast  lay 
what  had  been  a  piece  of  copper,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  which  had  now 
become  verdigrise.  On  the  breast  also  lay  a  stone  ornament  with  two 
perforations,  one  near  each  end,  through  which  passed  a  string,  by  means 
of  which  it  was  suspended  around  the  wearer's  neck.  On  this  string,  which 
was  made  of  sinews,  and  very  much  injured  by  time,  were  placed  a  great 
many  beads  made  of  ivory  or  bone,  for  I  cannot  certainly  say  which.  *  *  * 

MOUNDS    OF    STONE. 

"Two  such  mounds  have  been  described  already  in  the  county  of 
Perry.  Others  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  There 
is  one  at  least  in  the  vicinity  of  Licking  River,  not  many  miles  from 


22  MOUND  BUEIAL— ILLINOIS. 

Newark.  There  is  another  on  a  branch  of  Hargus's  Creek,  a  few  miles  to 
the  northeast  of  Circleville.  There  were  several  not  very  far  from  the 
town  of  Chillicothe.  If  these  mounds  were  sometimes  used  as  cemeteries 
of  distinguished  persons,  they  were  also  used  as  monuments  with  a  view 
of  perpetuating  the  recollection  of  some  great  transaction  or  event.  In 
the  former  not  more  generally  than  one  or  two  skeletons  are  found;  in  the 
latter  none.  These  mounds  are  like  those  of  earth,  in  form  of  a  cone,  com- 
posed of  small  stones  on  which  no  marks  of  tools  were  visible.  In  them 
some  of  the  most  interesting  articles  are  found,  such  as  urns,  ornaments  of 
copper,  heads  of  spears,  &c.,  of  the  same  metal,  as  well  as  medals  of  copper 
and  pickaxes  of  horneblende;  *  *  *  works  of  this  class,  compared  with 
those  of  earth,  are  few,  and  they  are  none  of  them  as  large  as  the  mounds 
at  Grave  Creek,  in  the  town  of  Circleville,  which  belong  to  the  first  class. 
I  saw  one  of  these  stone  tumuli  which  had  been  piled  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth  on  the  spot  where  three  skeletons  had  been  buried  in  stone  coffins, 
beneath  the  surface.  It  was  situated  on  the  western  edge  of  the  hill  on 
which  the  "walled  town"  stood,  on  Paint  Creek.  The  graves  appear  to 
have  been  dug  to  about  the  depth  of  ours  in  the  present  times.  After  the 
bottom  and  sides  were  lined  with  thin  flat  stones,  the  corpses  were  placed 
in  these  graves  in  an  eastern  and  western  direction,  and  large  flat  stones 
were  laid  over  the  graves;  then  the  earth  which  had  been  dug  out  of  the 
graves  was  thrown  over  them.  A  huge  pile  of  stones  was  placed  over  the 
whole.  It  is  quite  probable,  however,  that  this  was  a  work  of  our  present 
race  of  Indians.  Such  graves  are  more  common  in  Kentucky  than  Ohio. 
No  article,  except  the  skeletons,  was  found  in  these  graves ;  and  the  skele- 
tons resembled  very  much  the  present  race  of  Indians." 

The  mounds  of  Sterling  County,  Illinois,  are  described  by  W.  C. 
Holbrook,*  as  follows : 

"  I  recently  made  an  examination  of  a  few  of  the  many  Indian  mounds 
found  on  Rock  River,  about  two  miles  above  Sterling,  111.  The  first  one 
opened  was  an  oval  mound  about  20  feet  long,  12  feet  wide,  and  7  feet  high. 
In  the  interior  of  this  I  found  a  dolmen  or  quadrilateral  wall  about  10  feet 
long,  4  feet  high,  and  4J  feet  wide.  It  had  been  built  of  lime-rock  from  a 

*  Amer.  Natural.,  1877,  xi,  No.  11,  p.  688. 


MOUND  BUEIAL— ILLINOIS.  23 

quarry  near  by,  and  was  covered  with  large  flat  stones.  No  mortar  or 
cement  had  been  used.  The  whole  structure  rested  on  the  surface  of  the 
natural  soil,  the  interior  of  which  had  been  scooped  out  to  enlarge  the 
chamber.  Inside  of  the  dolmen  I  found  the  partly  decayed  remains  of  eight 
human  skeletons,  two  very  large  teeth  of  an  unknown  animal,  two  fossils,  one 
of  which  is  not  found  in  this  place,  and  a  plummet.  Orxe  of  the  long  bones 
had  been  splintered ;  the  fragments  had  united,  but  there  remained  large 
morbid  growths  of  bone  (exostosis)  in  several  places.  One  of  the  skulls 
presented  a  circular  opening  about  the  size  of  a  silver  dime.  This  perfora- 
tion had  been  made  during  life,  for  the  edges  had  commenced  to  cicatrize. 
I  later  examined  three  circular  mounds,  but  in  them  I  found  no  dolmens. 
The  first  mound  contained  three  adult  human  skeletons,  a  few  fragments  of 
the  skeleton  of  a  child,  the  lower  maxillary  of  which  indicated  it  to  be  about 
six  years  old.  I  also  found  claws  of  some  carnivorous  animal.  The  sur- 
face of  the  soil  had  been  scooped  out  and  the  bodies  laid  in  the  excavation 
and  covered  with  about  a  foot  of  earth ;  fires  had  then  been  made  upon  the 
grave  and  the  mound  afterwards  completed.  The  bones  had  not  been  charred. 
No  charcoal  was  found  among  the  bones,  but  occurred  in  abundance  in  a 
stratum  about  one  foot  above  them.  Two  other  mounds,  examined  at  the 
same  time,  contained  no  remains. 

"  Of  two  other  mounds,  opened  later,  the  first  was  circular,  about  4  feet 
high,  and  15  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  was  situated  on  an  elevated 
point  of  land  close  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  From  the  top  of  this  mound 
one  might  view  the  country  for  many  miles  in  almost  any  direction.  On  its 
summit  was  an  oval  altar  6  feet  long  and  4  J  wide.  It  was  composed  of  flat 
pieces  of  limestone,  which  had  been  burned  red,  some  portions  having  been 
almost  converted  into  lime.  On  and  about  this  altar  I  found  abundance  of 
charcoal.  At  the  sides  of  the  altar  were  fragments  of  human  bones,  some 
of  which  had  been  charred.  It  was  covered  by  a  natural  growth  of  vege- 
table mold  and  sod,  the  thickness  of  which  was  about  10  inches.  Large 
trees  had  once  grown  in  this  vegetable  mold,  but  their  stumps  were  so  de- 
cayed I  could  not  tell  with  certainty  to  what  species  they  belonged.  Another 
large  mound  was  opened  which  contained  nothing." 

The  next  account  relates  to  the  grave-mounds  near  Pensacola,  Fla., 


24  MOUND  BUEIAL— FLORIDA. 

and  was  originally  published  by  Dr.  George  M.  Steinberg,  surgeon  United 

States  Army  :* 

"  Before  visiting  the  mound  I  was  informed  that  the  Indians  were 
buried  in  it  in  an  upright  position,  each  one  with  a  clay  pot  on  his  head. 
This  idea  was  based  upon  some  superficial  explorations  which  had  been 
made  from  time  to  lime  by  curiosity  hunters.  Their  excavations  had,  in- 
deed, brought  to  light  pots  containing  fragments  of  skulls,  but  not  buried 
in  the  position  they  imagined.  Very  extensive  explorations  made  at  differ- 
ent times  by  myself  have  shown  that  only  fragments  of  skulls  and  of  the 
long  bones  of  the  body  are  to-  be  found  in  the  mound,  and  that  these  are 
commonly  associated  with  earthen  pots,  sometimes  whole,  but  more  fre- 
quently broken  fragments  only.  In  some  instances  portions  of  the  skull 
were  placed  in  a  pot,  and  the  long  bones  were  deposited  in  its  immediate 
vicinity.  Again,  the  pots  would  contain  only  sand,  and  fragments  of  bones 
would  be  found  near  them.  The  most  successful  '  find '  I  made  was  a  whole 
nest  of  pots,  to  the  number  of  half  a  dozen,  all  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
and  buried  with  a  fragment  of  skull,  which  I  take  from  its  small  size  to 
have  been  that  of  a  female.  Whether  this  female  was  thus  distinguished 
above  all  others  buried  in  the  mound  by  the  number  of  pots  deposited  with 
her  remains  because  of  her  skill  in  the  manufacture  of  such  ware,  or  by 
reason  of  the  unusual  wealth  of  her  sorrowing  husband,  must  remain  a  mat- 
ter of  conjecture.  I  found  altogether  fragments  of  skulls  and  thigh-bones 
belonging  to  at  least  fifty  individuals  ;  but  in  no  instance  did  I  find  any- 
thing like  a  complete  skeleton.  There  were  no  vertebrae,  no  ribs,  no  pelvic 
bones,  and  none  of  the  small  bones  of  the  hands  and  feet.  Two  or  three 
skulls  nearly  perfect  were  found,  but  they  were  so  fragile  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  preserve  them.  In  the  majority  of  instances  only  fragments  of  the 
frontal  and  parietal  bones  were  found,  buried  in  pots  or  in  fragments  of  pots 
too  small  to  have  ever  contained  a  complete  skull.  The  conclusion  was 
irresistible  that  this  was  not  a  burial-place  for  the  bodies  of  deceased  In- 
dians, but  that  the  bones  had  been  gathered  from  some  other  locality  for 
burial  in  this  mound,  or  that  cremation  was  practiced  before  burial,  and  the 
fragments  of  bone  not  consumed  by  fire  were  gathered  and  deposited  in  the 

*  Proc.  Am.  Ass.  Adv.  of  Science,  1875,  p.  288. 


MOUND  BUEIAL— FLORIDA.  25 

mound.  That  the  latter  supposition  is  the  correct  one  I  deem  probable 
from  the  fact  that  in  digging  in  the  mound  evidences  of  fire  are  found  in 
numerous  places,  but  without  any  regularity  as  to  depth  and  position. 
These  evidences  consist  in  strata  of  from  one  to  four  inches  in  thickness,  in 
which  the  sand  is  of  a  dark  color  and  has  mixed  with  it  numerous  small 
fragments  of  charcoal. 

"  My  theory  is  that  the  mound  was  built  by  gradual  accretion  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  That  when  a  death  occurred  a  funeral  pyre  was  erected  on 
the  mound,  upon  which  the  body  was  placed.  That  after  the  body  was 
consumed,  any  fragments  of  bones  remaining  were  gathered,  placed  in  a  pot, 
and  buried,  and  that  the  ashes  and  cinders  were  covered  by  a  layer  of  sand 
brought  from  the  immediate  vicinity  for  that  purpose.  This  view  is  further 
supported  by  the  fact  that  only  the  shafts  of  the  long  bones  are  found,  the 
expanded  extremities,  which  would  be  most  easily  consumed,  having  disap- 
peared ;  also,  by  the  fact  that  no  bones  of  children  were  found.  Their 
bones  being  smaller,  and  containing  a  less  proportion  of  earthy  matter, 
would  be  entirely  consumed.  *  *  * 

"At  the  Santa  Rosa  mound  the  method  of  burial  was  different.  Here 
I  found  the  skeletons  complete,  and  obtained  nine  well-preserved  skulls. 
*  *  *  The  bodies  were  not  apparently  deposited  upon  any  regular  sys- 
tem, and  I  found  no  objects  of  interest  associated  with  the  remains.  It  may 
be  that  this  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  skeletons  found  were  those  of  war- 
riors who  had  fallen  in  battle  in  which  they  had  sustained  a  defeat.  This 
view  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  they  were  all  males,  and  that  two  of  the 
skulls  bore  marks  of  ante-mortem  injuries  which  must  have  been  of  a  fatal 
character." 

Writing  of  the  Choctaws,  Bartram,*  in  alluding  to  the  ossuary  or  bone- 
house,  mentions  that  so  soon  as  this  is  filled  a  general  inhumation  takes 
place,  in  this  manner: 

"  Then  the  respective  coffins  are  borne  by  the  nearest  relatives  of  the 
deceased  to  the  place  of  interment,  where  they  are  all  piled  one  upon  an- 
other in  the  form  of  a  pyramid,  and  the  conical  hill  of  earth  heaped  above. 

*  Bartram's  Travels,  1791,  p.  513. 


26  MOUND  BUKIAL— NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  are  concluded  with  the  solemnization  of  a  festival 
called  the  feast  of  the  dead." 

Mr.  Florian  Gianque,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  furnishes  an  account  of  a 
somewhat  curious  mound-burial  which  had  taken  place  in  the  Miami  Val- 
ley of  Ohio : 

"  A  mound  was  opened  in  this  locality,  some  years  ago,  containing  a 
central  corpse  in  a  sitting  pasture,  and  over  thirty  skeletons  buried  around 
it  in  a  circle,  also  in  a  sitting  posture,  but  leaning  against  one  another, 
tipped  over  towards  the  right,  facing  inwards.  I  did  not  see  this  opened, 
but  have  seen  the  mounds  and  many  ornaments,  awls,  &c.,  said  to  have 
been  found  near  the  central  body.  The  parties  informing  me  are  trust- 
worthy." 

As  an  example  of  interment,  unique,  so  far  as  known,  and  interesting 
as  being  sui  generis,  the  following  is  presented,  with  the  statement  that 
the  author,  Dr.  J.  Mason  Spainhour,  of  Lenoir,  N.  C.,  bears  the  reputation 
of  an  observer  of  undoubted  integrity,  whose  facts  as  given  may  not  be 
doubted: 

"Excavation  of  an  Indian  mound  by  J.  Mason  Spainhour ;  D.  D.  $,  of  Lenoir, 
Caldwell  County,  North  Carolina,  March  11,  1871,  on  the  farm  of  R.  V. 
Michaux,  esq.,  near  John's  River,  in  Burke  County,  North  Carolina. 

"  In  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Michaux  on  Indian  curiosities,  he  informed 
me  that  there  was  an  Indian  mound  on  his  farm  which  was  formerly  of 
considerable  height,  but  had  gradually  been  plowed  down ;  that  several 
mounds  in  the  neighborhood  had  been  excavated,  and  nothing  of  interest 
found  in  them.  I  asked  permission  to  examine  this  mound,  which  was 
granted,  and  upon  investigation  the  following  facts  were  revealed  : 

"  Upon  reaching  the  place,  I  sharpened  a  stick  4  or  5  feet  in  length 
and  ran  it  down  in  the  earth  at  several  places,  and  finally  struck  a  rock 
about  18  inches  below  the  surface,  which,  on  digging  down,  was  found  to 
be  smooth  on  top,  lying  horizontally  upon  solid  earth,  about  18  inches 
above  the  bottom  of  the  grave,  18  inches  in  length,  and  16  inches  in  width, 
and  from  2  to  3  inches  in  thickness,  with  the  corners  rounded. 

*  Not  finding  anything  under  this  rock,  I  then  made  an  excavation  in 


MOUND  BUEIAL— NOBTH  CAEOLINA.  27 

the  south  of  the  grave,  and  soon  struck  another  rock,  which  upon  exam- 
ination proved  to  be  in  front  of  the  remains  of  a  human  skeleton  in  a 
sitting  posture.  The  bones  of  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  were  resting  on 
this  rock,  and  on  the  rock  near  the  hand  was  a  small  stone  about  5  inches 
long,  resembling  a  tomahawk  or  Indian  hatchet.  Upon  a  further  examina- 
tion many  of  the  bones  were  found,  though  in  a  very  decomposed  condi- 
tion, and  upon  exposure  to  the  air  soon  crumbled  to  pieces.  The  heads  of 
the  bones,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  skull,  maxillary  bones,  teeth,  neck 
bones,  and  the  vertebra,  were  in  their  proper  places,  though  the  weight  of 
the  earth  above  them  had  driven  them  down,  yet  the  entire  frame  was  so 
perfect  that  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  trace  all  the  bones ;  the  bones  of  the 
cranium  were  slightly  inclined  toward  the  east.  Around  the  neck  were 
found  coarse  beads  that  seemed  to  be  of  some  hard  substance  and  resem- 
bled chalk.  A  small  lump  of  red  paint  about  the  size  of  an  egg  was  found 
near  the  right  side  of  this  skeleton.  The  sutures  of  the  cranium  indicated 
the  subject  to  have  been  25  or  28  years  of  age,  and  its  top  rested  about  12 
inches  below  the  mark  of  the  plow. 

"  I  made  a  further  excavation  toward  the  west  of  this  grave  and  found 
another  skeleton,  similar  to  the  first,  in  a  sitting  posture,  facing  the  east. 
A  rock  was  on  the  right,  on  which  the  bones  of  the  right  hand  were  rest- 
ing, and  on  this  rock  was  a  tomahawk  which  had  been  about  7  inches  in 
length,  but  was  broken  into  two  pieces,  and  was  much  better  finished  than 
the  first.  Beads  were  also  around  the  neck  of  this  one,  but  are  much 
smaller  and  of  finer  quality  than  those  on  the  neck  of  the  first.  The  mate- 
rial, however,  seems  to  be  the  same.  A  much  larger  amount  of  paint  was 
found  by  the  side  of  this  than  the  first.  The  bones  indicated  a  person  of 
large  frame,  who,  I  think,  was  about  50  years  of  age.  Everything  about 
this  one  had  the  appearance  of  superiority  over  the  first.  The  top  of  the 
skull  was  about  6  inches  below  the  mark  of  the  plane. 

"  I  continued  the  examination,  and,  after  diligent  search,  found  noth- 
ing at  the  north  side  of  the  grave  ;  but,  on  reaching  the  east,  found  another 
skeleton,  in  the  same  posture  as  the  others,  facing  the  west.  On  the  right 
side  of  this  was  a  rock  on  which  the  bones  of  the  right  hand  were  resting, 
and  on  the  rock  was  also  a  tomahawk,  which  had  been  about  8  inches  in 


23  MOUND  BUBIAL— NOKTH  CAEOLINA 

length,  but  was  broken  into  three  pieces,  and  was  composed  of  much  better 
material,  and  better  finished  than  the  others.  Beads  were  also  found  on 
the  neck  of  this,  but  much  smaller  and  finer  than  those  of  the  others.  A 
larger  amount  of  paint  than  both  of  the  others  was  found  near  this  one. 
The  top  of  the  cranium  had  been  moved  by  the  plow.  The  bones  indicated 
a  person  of  40  years  of  age. 

"  There  was  no  appearance  of  hair  discovered ;  besides,  the  smaller 
bones  were  almost  entirely  decomposed,  and  would  crumble  when  taken 
from  their  bed  in  the  earth.  These  two  circumstances,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  the  farm  on  which  this  grave  was  found  was  the  first  settled  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  the  date  of  the  first  deed  made  from  Lord  Grran- 
ville  to  John  Perkins  running  back  about  1 50  years  (the  land  still  belong- 
ing to  the  descendants  of  the  same  family  that  first  occupied  it),  would 
prove  beyond  doubt  that  it  is  a  very  old  grave. 

"  The  grave  was  situated  due  east  and  west,  in  size  about  9  by  6  feet, 
the  line  being  distinctly  marked  by  the  difference  in  the  color  of  the  soil. 
It  was  dug  in  rich,  black  loam,  and  filled  around  the  bodies  with  white  or 
yellow  sand,  which  I  suppose  was  carried  from  the  river-bank,  200  yards 
distant.  The  skeletons  approximated  the  walls  of  the  grave,  and  contigu- 
ous to  them  was  a  dark-colored  earth,  and  so  decidedly  different  was  this 
from  all  surrounding  it,  both  in  quality  and  odor,  that  the  line  of  the  bodies 
could  be  readily  traced.  The  odor  of  this  decomposed  earth,  which  had 
been  flesh,  was  similar  to  clotted  blood,  and  would  adhere  in  lumps  when 
compressed  in  the  hand. 

"  This  was  not  the  grave  of  the  Indian  warriors ;  in  those  we  find  pots 
made  of  earth  or  stone,  and  all  the  implements  of  war,  for  the  warrior  had 
an  idea  that  after  he  arose  from  the  dead  he  would  need,  in  the  "hunting- 
grounds  beyond,"  his  bow  and  arrow,  war-hatchet,  and  scalping-knife. 

"The  facts  set  forth  will  doubtless  convince  every  Mason  who  will 
carefully  read  the  account  of  this  remarkable  burial  that  the  American 
Indians  were  in  possession  of  at  least  some  of  the  mysteries  of  our  order, 
and  that  it  was  evidently  the  grave  of  Masons,  and  the  three  highest  officers 
in  a  Masonic  lodge.  The  grave  was  situated  due  east  and  west ;  an  altar 
was  erected  in  the  center;  the  south,  west,  and  east  were  occupied — the  north 


GATE  BURIAL.  29 

was  not;  implements  of  authority  were  near  each  body.  The  difference  in 
the  quality  of  the  beads,  the  tomahawks  in  one,  two,  and  three  pieces,  and 
the  difference  that  the  bodies  were  placed  from  the  surface,  indicate  beyond 
doubt  that  these  three  persons  had  been  buried  by  Masons,  and  those,  too, 
that  understood  what  they  were  doing. 

"Will  some  learned  Mason  unravel  this  mystery,  and  inform  the 
Masonic  world  how  they  obtained  so  much  Masonic  information  ? 

"  The  tomahawks,  maxillary  bones,  some  of  the  teeth,  beads,  and  other 
bones,  have  been  forwarded  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington, 
D.  C.,  to  be  placed  among  the  archives  of  that  institution  for  exhibition,  at 
which  place  they  may  be  seen." 

If  Dr.  Spainhour's  inferences  are  incorrect,  still  there  is  a  remarkable 
coincidence  of  circumstances  patent  to  every  Mason. 

CAVE  BUEIAL. 

Natural  or  artificial  holes  in  the  ground,  caverns,  and  fissures  in  rocks 
have  been  used  as  places  of  deposit  for  the  dead  since  the  earliest  periods 
of  time,  and  are  used  up  to  the  present  day  by  not  only  the  American 
Indians,  but  by  peoples  noted  for  their  mental  elevation  and  civilization, 
our  cemeteries  furnishing  numerous  specimens  of  artificial  or  partly  artifi- 
cial caves.  As  to  the  motives  which  have  actuated  this  mode  of  burial,  a 
discussion  would  be  out  of  place  at  this  time,  except  as  may  incidentally 
relate  to  our  own  Indians,  who,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  simply  adopted 
caves  as  ready  and  convenient  resting  places  for  their  deceased  relatives 
and  friends. 

In  almost  every  State  in  the  Union  burial  caves  have  been  discovered, 
but  as  there  is  more  or  less  of  identity  between  them,  a  few  illustrations 
will  serve  the  purpose  of  calling  the  attention  of  observers  to  the  subject. 

While  in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  in  1872,  the  writer  discovered  a 
natural  cave  not  far  from  the  House  Range  of  mountains,  the  entrance  to 
which  resembled  the  shaft  of  a  mine.  In  this  the  Gosi-Ute  Indians  had 
deposited  their  dead,  surrounded  with  different  articles,  until  it  was  quite 
filled  up;  at  least  it  so  appeared  from  the  cursory  examination  made,  limited 
time  preventing  a  careful  exploration.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  another 


30  CAVE  BURIAL— UTAH. 

cave  was  heard  of,  from  an  Indian  guide,  near  the  Nevada  border,  in  the 
same  Territory,  and  an  attempt  made  to  explore  it,  which  failed  for 
reasons  to  be  subsequently  given.  This  Indian,  a  Gosi-Ute,  who  was 
questioned  regarding  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  his  tribe,  informed  the 
writer  that  not  far  from  the  very  spot  where  the  party  were  encamped  was 
a  large  cave  in  which  he  had  himself  assisted  in  placing  dead  members  of 
his  tribe.  He  described  it  in  detail  and  drew  a  rough  diagram  of  its  posi- 
tion and  appearance  within.  He  was  asked  if  an  entrance  could  be  effected, 
and  replied  that  he  thought  not,  as  some  years  previous  his  people  had 
stopped  up  the  narrow  entrance  to  prevent  game  from  seeking  a  refuge  in 
its  vast  vaults,  for  he  asserted  that  it  was  so  large  and  extended  so  far  under 
ground  that  no  man  knew  its  full  extent.  In  consideration,  however,  of  a 
very  liberal  bribe,  after  many  refusals,  he  agreed  to  act  as  guide.  A  rough 
ride  of  over  an  hour  and  the  desired  spot  was  reached.  It  was  found  to  be 
almost  upon  the  apex  of  a  small  mountain  apparently  of  volcanic  origin, 
for  the  hole  which  was  pointed  out  appeared  to  have  been  the  vent  of  the 
crater.  This  entrance  was  irregularly  circular  in  form  and  descended  at  an 
angle.  As  the  Indian  had  stated,  it  was  completely  stopped  up  with  large 
stones  and  roots  of  sage  brush,  and  it  was  only  after  six  hours  of  uninter- 
rupted, faithful  labor  that  the  attempt  to  explore  was  abandoned.  The 
guide  was  asked  if  many  bodies  were  therein,  and  replied  "  Heaps,  heaps," 
moving  the  hands  upwards  as  far  as  they  could  be  stretched.  There  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  information  received,  as  it  was  volun- 
tarily imparted. 

In  a  communication  received  from  Dr.  A.  J.  McDonald,  physician  to 
the  Los  Pinos  Indian  Agency,  Colorado,  a  description  is  given  of  crevice  or 
rock-fissure  burial,  which  follows: 

"As  soon  as  death  takes  place  the  event  is  at  once  announced  by  the 
medicine-man,  and  without  loss  of  time  the  squaws  are  busily  engaged  in 
preparing  the  corpse  for  the  grave.  This  does  not  take  long;  whatever 
articles  of  clothing  may  have  been  on  the  body  at  the  time  of  death  are 
not  removed.  The  dead  man's  limbs  are  straightened  out,  his  weapons  of 
war  laid  by  his  side,  and  his  robes  and  blankets  wrapped  securely  and 
snugly  around  him,  and  now  everything  is  ready  for  burial.  It  is  the 


CAVE  BUKIAL— UTAH.  31 

custom  to  secure,  if  possible,  for  the  purpose  of  wrapping  up  the  corpse, 
the  robes  and  blankets  in  which  the  Indian  died.  At  the  same  time  that 
the  body  is  being  fitted  for  interment,  the  squaws  having  immediate  care 
of  it,  together  with  all  the  other  squaws  in  the  neighborhood,  keep  up  a 
continued  chant  or  dirge,  the  dismal  cadence  of  which  may,  when  the 
congregation  of  women  is  large,  be  heard  for  quite  a  long  distance.  The 
death  song  is  not  a  mere  inarticulate  howl  of  distress ;  it  embraces  expres- 
sions eulogistic  in  character,  but  whether  or  not  any  particular  formula  of 
words  is  adopted  on  such  occasion  is  a  question  which  I  am  unable,  with 
the  materials  at  my  disposal,  to  determine  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 

"  The  next  duty  falling  to  the  lot  of  the  squaws  is  that  of  placing  the 
dead  man  on  a  horse  and  conducting  the  remains  to  the  spot  chosen  for 
burial.  This  is  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  it 
has  always  been  customary  among  the  Utes  to  select  sepulchres  of  this 
character.  From  descriptions  given  by  Mr.  Harris,  who  has  several  times 
been  fortunate  enough  to  discover  remains,  it  would  appear  that  no  super- 
stitious ideas  are  held  by  this  tribe  with  respect  to  the  position  in  which 
the  body  is  placed,  the  space  accommodation  of  the  sepulchre  probably 
regulating  this  matter;  and  from  the  same  source  I  learn  that  it  is  not  usual 
to  find  the- remains  of  more  than  one  Indian  deposited  in  one  grave.  After 
the  body  has  been  received  into  the  cleft,  it  is  well  covered  with  pieces  of 
rock,  to  protect  it  against  the  ravages  of  wild  animals.  The  chant  ceases, 
the  squaws  disperse,  and  the  burial  ceremonies  are  at  an  end.  The  men 
during  all  this  time  have  not  been  idle,  though  they  have  in  no  way  partici- 
pated in  the  preparation  of  the  body,  have  not  joined  the  squaws  in  chant- 
ing praises  to  the  memory  of  the  dead,  and  have  not  even  as  mere  specta- 
tors attended  the  funeral,  yet  they  have  had  their  duties  to  perform.  In 
conformity  with  a  long-established  custom,  all  the  personal  property  of  the 
deceased  is  immediately  destroyed.  His  horses  and  his  cattle  are  shot,  and 
his  wigwam,  furniture,  &c.,  burned.  The  performance  of  this  part  of  the 
ceremonies  is  assigned  to  the  men;  a  duty  quite  in  accord  with  their  taste 
and  inclinations.  Occasionally  the  destruction  of  horses  and  other  prop- 
erty is  of  considerable  magnitude,  but  usually  this  is  not  the  case,  owing  to 
a  practice  existing  with  them  of  distributing  their  property  among  their 


32  CAVE  BUEIAL— CALIFORNIA. 

children  while  they  are  of  a  very  tender  age,  retaining  to  themselves  only 
what  is  necessary  to  meet  every-day  requirements. 

"  The  widow  'goes  into  mourning'  by  smearing  her  face  with  a  sub- 
stance composed  of  pitch  and  charcoal.  The  application  is  made  but  once, 
and  is  allowed  to  remain  on  until  it  wears  off.  This  is  the  only  mourning 
observance  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge. 

"  The  ceremonies  observed  on  the  death  of  a  female  are  the  same  as 
those  in  the  case  of  a  male,  except  that  no  destruction  of  property  takes 
place,  and  of  course  no  weapons  are  deposited  with  the  corpse.  Should  a 
youth  die  while  under  the  superintendence  of  white  men,  the  Indians  will 
not  as  a  rule  have  anything  to  do  with  the  interment  of  the  body.  In  a 
case  of  the  kind  which  occurred  at  this  agency  some  time  ago,  the  squaws 
prepared  the  body  in  the  usual  manner;  the  men  of  the  tribe  selected  a 
spot  for  the  burial,  and  the  employe's  at  the  agency,  after  digging  a  grave 
and  depositing  the  corpse  therein,  filled  it  up  according  to  the  fashion  of 
civilized  people,  and  then  at  the  request  of  the  Indians  rolled  large  frag- 
ments of  rocks  on  top.  Great  anxiety  was  exhibited  by  the  Indians  to  have 
the  employe's  perform  the  service  as  expeditiously  as  possible." 

An  interesting  cave  in  Calaveras  County,  California,  which  had  been 
used  for  burial  purposes,  is  thus  described  by  Prof.  J.  D.  Whitney  :* 

"  The  following  is  an  account  of  the  cave  from  which  the  skulls,  now 
in  the  Smithsonian  collection,  were  taken:  It  is  near  the  Stanislaus  River, 
in  Calaveras  County,  on  a  nameless  creek,  about  two  miles  from  Abbey's 
Ferry,  on  the  road  to  Vallicito,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Robinson.  There  were 
two  or  three  persons  with  me,  who  had  been  to  the  place  before  and  knew 
that  the  skulls  in  question  were  taken  from  it.  Their  visit  was  some  ten 
years  ago,  and  since  that  the  condition  of  things  in  the  cave  has  greatly 
changed.  Owing  to  some  alteration  in  the  road,  mining  operations,  or  some 
other  cause  which  I  could  not  ascertain,  there  has  accumulated  on  the 
formerly  clean  stalagmitic  floor  of  the  cave  a  thickness  of  some  20  feet  of 
surface  earth  that  completely  conceals  the  bottom,  and  which  could  not  be 
removed  without  considerable  expense.  This  cave  is  about  27  feet  deep  at 
the  mouth  and  40  to  50  feet  at  the  end,  and  perhaps  30  feet  in  diameter.  It  is 

"  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  1867,  p.  406. 


CAVE  BUEIAL— ALASKA.  33 

the  general  opinion  of  those  who  have  noticed  this  cave  and  saw  it  years 
ago  that  it  was  a  bury  ing-place  of  the  present  Indians.  Dr.  Jones  said  he 
found  remains  of  bows  and  arrows  and  charcoal  with  the  skulls  he  obtained, 
and  which  were  destroyed  at  the  time  the  village  of  Murphy's  was  burned. 
All  the  people  spoke  of  the  skulls  as  lying  on  the  surface  and  not  as  buried 
in  the  stalagmite." 

The  next  description  of  cave  burial,  described  by  W.  H.  Dall*,  is 
so  remarkable  that  it  seems  worthy  of  admittance  to  this  paper.  It  relates 
probably  to  the  Innuit  of  Alaska. 

"  The  earliest  remains  of  man  found  in  Alaska  up  to  the  time  of  writ- 
ing I  refer  to  this  epoch  [Echinus  layer  of  Dall].  There  are  some  crania 
found  by  us  in  the  lowermost  part  of  the  Amaknak  cave  and  a  cra- 
nium obtained  at  Adakh,  near  the  anchorage  in  the  Bay  of  Islands.  These 
were  deposited  in  a  remarkable  manner,  precisely  similar  to  that  adopted 
by  most  of  the  continental  Innuit,  but  equally  different  from  the  modern 
Aleut  fashion.  At  the  Amaknak  cave  we  found  what  at  first  appeared 
to  be  a  wooden  inclosure,  but  which  proved  to  be  made  of  the  very 
much  decayed  supra-maxillary  bones  of  some  large  cetacean.  These 
were  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  rude  rectangular  inclosure  covered  over 
with  similar  pieces  of  bone.  This  was  somewhat  less  than  4  feet  long,  2 
feet  wide,  and  18  inches  deep.  The  bottom  was  formed  of  flat  pieces  of 
stone.  Three  such  were  found  close  together,  covered  with  and  filled  by  an 
accumulation  of  fine  vegetable  and  organic  mold.  In  each  was  the  remains 
of  a  skeleton  in  the  last  stages  of  decay.  It  had  evidently  been  tied  up  in 
the  Innuit  fashion  to  get  it  into  its  narrow  house,  but  all  the  bones,  with  the 
exception  of  the  skull,  were  reduced  to  a  soft  paste,  or  even  entirely  gone. 
At  Adakh  a  fancy  prompted  me  to  dig  into  a  small  knoll  near  the  ancient 
shell-heap;  and  here  we  found,  in  a  precisely  similar  sarcophagus,  the 
remains  of  a  skeleton,  of  which  also  only  the  cranium  retained  sufficient 
consistency  to  admit  of  preservation.  This  inclosure,  however,  was  filled 
with  a  dense  peaty  mass  not  reduced  to  mold,  the  result  of  centuries  of 
sphagnous  growth,  which  had  reached  a  thickness  of  nearly  2  feet  above 
the  remains.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  well-known  slowness  of  this  kind 

*  Contrib.  to  N.  A.  Ethnol.,  1877,  vol.  1,  p.  62. 
3  Y 


34  MUMMIES. 

of  growth  in  these  northern  regions,  attested  by  numerous  Arctic  travelers, 
the  antiquity  of  the  remains  becomes  evident." 

It  seems  beyond  doubt  that  in  the  majority  of  cases,  especially  as 
regards  the  caves  of  the  Western  States  and  Territories,  the  interments  were 
primary  ones,  and  this  is  likewise  true  of  many  of  the  caverns  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Kentucky,  for  in  the  three  States  mentioned  many  mummies 
have  been  found,  but  it  is  also  likely  that  such  receptacles  were  largely 
used  as  places  of  secondary  deposits.  The  many  fragmentary  skeletons  and 
loose  bones  found  seem  to  strengthen  this  view. 

MUMMIES. 

In  connection  with  cave  burial,  the  subject  of  mummifying  or  embalm- 
ing the  dead  may  be  taken  up,  as  most  specimens  of  the  kind  have  gen- 
erally been  found  in  such  repositories. 

It  might  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  search  out  and  discuss 
the  causes  which  have  led  many  nations  or  tribes  to  adopt  certain  processes 
with  a  view  to  prevent  that  return  to  dust  which  all  flesh  must  sooner 
or  later  experience,  but  the  necessarily  limited  scope  of  this  preliminary  work 
precludes  more  than  a  brief  mention  of  certain  theories  advanced  by  writers 
of  note,  and  which  relate  to  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Possibly  at  the  time 
the  Indians  of  America  sought  to  preserve  their  dead  from  decomposition 
some  such  ideas  may  have  animated  them,  but  on  this  point  no  definite 
information  has  been  procured.  In  the  final  volume  an  effort  will  be  made 
to  trace  out  the  origin  of  mummification  among  the  Indians  and  aborigines 
of  this  continent. 

The  Egyptians  embalmed,  according  to  Cassien,  because  during  the 
time  of  the  annual  inundation  no  interments  could  take  place,  but  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  this  hypothesis  is  entirely  fanciful.  It  is  said  by  others 
they  believed  that  so  long  as  the  body  was  preserved  from  corruption  the 
soul  remained  in  it.  Herodotus  states  that  it  was  to  prevent  bodies  from 
becoming  a  prey  to  animal  voracity.  "  They  did  not  inter  them,"  says  he, 
"for  fear  of  their  being  eaten  by  worms ;  nor  did  they  burn,  considering 
fire  as  a  ferocious  beast,  devouring  everything  which  it  touched  "  Accord- 
ing to  Diodoras  of  Sicily,  embalmment  originated  in  filial  piety  and 


MUMMIES— VIRGINIA.  35 

respect.  De  Maillet,  however,  in  his  tenth  letter  on  Egypt,  attributes  it 
entirely  to  a  religious  belief  insisted  upon  by  the  wise  men  and  priests,  who 
taught  their  disciples  that  after  a  certain  number  of  cycles,  of  perhaps  thirty 
or  forty  thousand  years,  the  entire  universe  became  as  it  was  at  birth,  and 
the  souls  of  the  dead  returned  into  the  same  bodies  in  which  they  had  lived, 
provided  that  the  body  remained  free  from  corruption,  and  that  sacrifices 
were  freely  offered  as  oblations  to  the  manes  of  the  deceased.  Considering 
the  great  care  taken  to  preserve  the  dead,  and  the  ponderously  solid  nature 
of  their  tombs,  it  is  quite  evident  that  this  theory  obtained  many  believers 
among  the  people.  M.  Gannal  believes  embalmment  to  have  been  suggested 
by  the  affectionate  sentiments  of  our  nature — a  desire  to  preserve  as  long 
as  possible  the  mortal  remains  of  loved  ones  ;  but  MM.  Volney  and  Pariset 
think  it  was  intended  to  obviate,  in  hot  climates  especially,  danger  from 
pestilence,  being  primarily  a  cheap  and  simple  process,  elegance  and  luxury 
coming  later;  and  the  Count  de  Caylus  states  the  idea  of  embalmment  was 
derived  from  the  finding  of  desiccated  bodies  which  the  burning  sands  of 
Egypt  had  hardened  and  preserved.  Many  other  suppositions  have  arisen, 
but  it  is  thought  the  few  given  above  are  sufficient  to  serve  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  embalmment  in  North  America. 

From  the  statements  of  the -older  writers  on  North  American  Indians, 
it  appears  that  mummifying  was  resorted  to  among  certain  tribes  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  Carolinas,  and  Florida,  especially  for  people  of  distinction,  the 
process  in  Virginia  for  the  kings,  according  to  Beverly,*  being  as  follows: 

"  The  Indians  are  religious  in  preserving  the  Corpses  of  their  Kings 
and  Rulers  after  Death,  which  they  order  in  the  following  manner:  First, 
they  neatly  flay  off  the  Skin  as  entire  as  they  can,  slitting  it  only  in  the 
Back;  then  they  pick  all  the  Flesh  off  from  the  Bones  as  clean  as  possible, 
leaving  the  Sinews  fastned  to  the  Bones,  that  they  may  preserve  the  Joints 
together:  then  they  dry  the  Bones  in  the  Sun,  and  put  them  into  the  Skin 
again,  which  in  the  mean  time  has  been  kept  from  drying  or  shrinking ; 
when  the  Bones  are  placed  right  in  the  Skin,  they  nicely  fill  up  the  Vacuities, 
with  a  very  fine  white  Sand.  After  this  they  sew  up  the  Skin  again,  and  the 
Body  looks  as  if  the  Flesh  had  not  been  removed.  They  take  care  to  keep 

*Hist.  of  Virginia,  1722,  p.  185. 


36  MUMMIES— VIEGINIA. 

the  Skin  from  shrinking,  by  the  help  of  a  little  Oil  or  Grease,  which  saves  it 
also  from  Corruption.  The  Skin  being  thus  prepared,  they  lay  it  in  an  apart- 
ment for  that  purpose,  upon  a  large  Shelf  rais'd  above  the  Floor.  This  Shelf 
is  spread  with  Mats,  for  the  Corpse  to  rest  easy  on,  and  skreened  with  the 
same,  to  keep  it  from  the  Dust.  The  Flesh  they  lay  upon  Hurdles  in  the  Sun 
to  dry,  and  when  it  is  thoroughly  dried,  it  is  sewed  up  in  a  Basket,  and  set 
at  the  Feet  of  the  Corpse,  to  which  it  belongs.  In  this  place  also  they  set  up 
a  Quioccos,  or  Idol,  which  they  believe  will  be  a  Guard  to  the  Corpse.  Here 
Night  and  Day  one  or  other  of  the  Priests  must  give  his  Attendance,  to  take 
care  of  the  dead  Bodies.  So  great  an  Honour  and  Veneration  have  these 
ignorant  and  unpolisht  People  for  their  Princes  even  after  they  are  dead." 

It  should  be  added  that,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  this  account  and  others 
like  it  are  somewhat  apocryphal,  and  it  has  been  copied  and  recopied  a 
score  of  times. 

According  to  Pinkerton*,  the  Werowance  preserved  their  dead  as 
follows : 

«  *  *  *  j$y  jjjm  js  commonly  the  sepulchre  of  their  Kings.  Their 
bodies  are  first  bowelled,  then  dried  upon  hurdles  till  -they  be  very  dry, 
and  so  about  the  most  of  their  joints  and  neck  they  hang  bracelets,  or 
chains  of  copper,  pearl,  and  such  like,  as  they  used  to  wear.  Their  inwards 
they  stuff  with  copper  beads,  hatchets,  and  such  trash.  Then  lap  they  them 
very  carefully  in  white  skins,  and  so  roll  them  in  mats  for  their  winding- 
sheets.  And  in  the  tomb,  which  is  an  arch  made  of  mats,  they  lay  them 
orderly.  What  remaineth  of  this  kind  of  wealth  their  Kings  have,  they  set 
at  their  feet  in  baskets.  These  temples  and  bodies  are  kept  by  their  priests. 

"  For  their  ordinary  burials,  they  dig  a  deep  hole  in  the  earth  with 
sharp  stakes,  and  the  corpse  being  lapped  in  skins  and  mats  with  their 
jewels  they  lay  them  upon  sticks  in  the  ground,  and  so  cover  them  with 
earth.  The  burial  ended,  the  women  being  painted  all  their  faces  with 
black  coal  and  oil  do  sit  twenty-four  hours  in  the  houses  mourning  and 
lamenting  by  turns  with  such  yelling  and  howling  as  may  express  their 
great  passions.  *  *  * 

"Upon  the  top  of  certain  red  sandy  hills  in  the  woods  there  are  three 

*  Collection  of  Voyages,  1812,  vol.  xiii,  p.  39. 


MUMMIES— SOUTH  CAROLINA.  37 

great  houses  filled  with  images  of  their  Kings  and  devils  and  tombs  of  their 
predecessors.  Those  houses  are  near  sixty  feet  in  length,  built  harbourwise 
after  their  building.  This  place  they  count  so  holy  as  that  but  the  priests 
and  Kings  dare  come  into  them;  nor  the  savages  dare  not  go  up  the  river 
in  boats  by  it,  but  they  solemnly  cast  some  piece  of  copper,  white  beads, 
or  pocones  into  the  river  for  fear  their  Okee  should  be  offended  and 
revenged  of  them. 

"  They  think  that  their  Werowances  and  priests  which  they  also  esteem 
quiyoughcosughs,  when  they  are  dead  do  go  beyond  the  mountains  towards 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  ever  remain  there  in  form  of  their  Okee,  with 
their  heads  painted  red  with  oil  and  pocones,  finely  trimmed  with  feathers, 
and  shall  have  beads,  hatchets,  copper,  and  tobacco,  doing  nothing  but 
dance  and  sing  with  all  their  predecessors.  But  the  common  people  they 
suppose  shall  not  live  after  death,  but  rot  in  their  graves  like  dead  dogs." 

The  remark  regarding  truthfulness  will  apply  to  this  account  in  com- 
mon with  the  former. 

The  Congaree  or  Santee  Indians  of  South  Carolina,  according  to  Law- 
son,  used  a  process  of  partial  embalmment,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  sub- 
joined extract  from  Schoolcraft  ;*  but  instead  of  laying  away  the  remains 
in  caves,  placed  them  in  boxes  supported  above  the  ground  by  crotched 
sticks. 

"  The  manner  of  their  interment  is  thus :  A  mole  or  pyramid  of  earth 
is  raised,  the  mould  thereof  being  worked  very  smooth  and  even,  sometimes 
higher  or  lower,  according  to  the  dignity  of  the  person  whose  monument  it 
is.  On  the  top  thereof  is  an  umbrella,  made  ridgeways,  like  the  roof  of  a 
house.  This  is  supported  by  nine  stakes  or  small  posts,  the  grave  being 
about  6  or  8  feet  in  length  and  4  feet  in  breadth,  about  which  is  hung 
gourds,  feathers,  and  other  such  like  trophies,  placed  there  by  the  dead 
man's  relations  in  respect  to  him  in  the  grave.  The  other  parts  of  the  fune- 
ral rites  are  thus:  As  soon  as  the  party  is  dead  they  lay  the  corpse  upon  a 
piece  of  bark  in  the  sun,  seasoning  or  embalming  it  with  a  small  root  beaten 
to  powder,  which  looks  as  red  as  vermilion ;  the  same  is  mixed  with  bear's 
oil  to  beautify  the  hair.  After  the  carcass  has  laid  a  day  or  two  in  the  sun 

*  Hist.  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,  1854,  Part  IV,  p.  lf)5,  ct  scq. 


38  MUMMIES— SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

they  remove  it  and  lay  it  upon  crotches  cut  on  purpose  for  the  support 
thereof  from  the  earth ;  then  they  anoint  it  all  over  with  the  aforementioned 
ingredients  of  the  powder  of  this  root  and  bear's  oil.  When  it  is  so  done 
they  cover  it  over  very  exactly  with  the  bark  of  the  pine  or  cypress  tree 
to  prevent  any  rain  to  fall  upon  it,  sweeping  the  ground  very  clean  all 
about  it.  Some  of  his  nearest  of  kin  brings  all  the  temporal  estate  he  was 
possessed  of  at  his  death,  as  guns,  bows  and  arrows,  beads,  feathers,  match- 
coat,  &c.  This  relation  is  the  chief  mourner,  being  clad  in  moss,  with  a 
stick  in  his  hand,  keeping  a  mournful  ditty  for  three  or  four  days,  his  face 
being  black  with  the  smoke  of  pitch-pine  mixed  with  bear's  oil.  All  the 
while  he  tells  the  dead  man's  relations  and  the  rest  of  the  spectators  who 

• 

that  dead  person  was,  and  of  the  great  feats  performed  in  his  lifetime,  all  that 
he  speaks  tending  to  the  praise  of  the  defunct.  As  soon  as  the  flesh  grows 
mellow  and  will  cleave  from  the  bone  they  get  it  off  and  burn  it,  making 
the  bones  very  clean,  then  anoint  them  with  the  ingredients  aforesaid, 
wrapping  up  the  skull  (very  carefully)  in  a  cloth  artificially  woven  of  opos- 
sum's hair.  The  bones  they  carefully  preserve  in  a  wooden  box,  every 
year  oiling  and  cleansing  them.  By  these  means  they  preserve  them  for 
many  ages,  that  you  may  see  an  Indian  in  possession  of  the  bones  of  his 
grandfather  or  some  of  his  relations  of  a  longer  antiquity.  They  have  other 
sorts  of  tombs,  as  when  an  Indian  is  slain  in  that  very  place  they  make  a 
heap  of  stones  (or  sticks  where  stones  are  not  to  be  found)  ;  to  this  memo- 
rial every  Indian  that  passes  by  adds  a  stone  to  augment  the  heap  in  respect 
to  the  deceased  hero.  The  Indians  make  a  roof  of  light  wood  or  pitch-pine 
over  the  graves  of  the  more  distinguished,  covering  it  with  bark  and  then 
with  earth,  leaving  the  body  thus  in  a  subterranean  vault  until  the  flesh 
quits  the  bones.  The  bones  are  then  taken  up,  cleaned,  jointed,  clad  in 
white-dressed  deer-skins,  and  laid  away  in  the  Quiogozon,  which  is  the  royal 
tomb  or  burial-place  of  their  kings  and  war-captains,  being  a  more  mag- 
nificent cabin  reared  at  the  public  expense.  This  Quiogozon  is  an  object  of 
veneration,  in  which  the  writer  says  he  has  known  the  king,  old  men,  and 
conjurers  to  spend  several  days  with  their  idols  and  dead  kings,  and  into 
which  he  could  never  gain  admittance." 

Another  class  of  mummies  are  those  which  have  been  found  in  the 


MUMMIES— KENTUCKY.  39 

saltpeter  and  other  caves  of  Kentucky,  and  it  is  still  a  matter  of  doubt  with 
archaeologists  whether  any  special  pains  were  taken  to  preserve  these  bodies, 
many  believing  that  the  impregnation  of  the  soil  with  certain  minerals 
would  account  for  the  condition  in  which  the  specimens  were  found. 
Charles  Wilkins*  thus  describes  one  : 

"  *  *  *  exsiccated  body  of  a,femule  *  *  *  was  found  at  the 
depth  of  about  10  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  cave  bedded  in  clay  strongly 
impregnated  with  nitre,  placed  in  a  sitting  posture,  incased  in  broad  stones 
standing  on  their  edges,  with  a  flat  stone  covering  the  whole.  It  was  en- 
veloped in  coarse  clothes,  *  *  *  the  whole  wrapped  in  deer-skins,  the 
hair  of  which  was  shaved  off  in  the  manner  in  which  the  Indians  prepare 
them  for  market.  Enclosed  in  the  stone  coffin  were  the  working  utensils, 
beads,  feathers,  and  other  ornaments  of  dress  which  belonged  to  her." 

The  next  description  is  by  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchill.f 

[A  letter  from  Dr.  Mitcliill,  of  New  York,  to  Samuel  M.  Burnside,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  American  An- 
tiquarian Society,  on  North  American  Antiquities.] 

"Ana.  24TH,  1815. 

"DEAR  SIR  :  I  offer  you  some  observations  on  a  curious  piece  of  Ameri- 
can antiquity  now  in  New  York,  It  is  a  human  bodyf  found  in  one  of  the 
limestone  caverns  of  Kentucky.  It  is  a  perfect  exsication ;  all  the  fluids 
are  dried  up.  The  skin,  bones,  and  other  firm  parts  are  in  a  state  of  entire 
preservation.  I  think  it  enough  to  have  puzzled  Bryant  and  all  the 
archaeologists. 

"This  was  found  in  exploring  a  calcareous  cave  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Glasgow  for  saltpetre. 

"  These  recesses,  though  under  ground,  are  yet  dry  enough  to  attract 
and  retain  the  nitrick  acid.  It  combines  with  lime  and  potash  ;  and  proba- 
bly the  earthy  matter  of  these  excavations  contains  a  good  proportion  of 
calcareous  carbonate.  Amidst  these  drying  and  antiseptick  ingredients,  it 
may  be  conceived  that  putrefaction  would  be  stayed,  and  the  solids  preserved 

*  Trans.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  1820,  vol.  1,  p.  360. 

t  Trans,  and  Coll.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  1820,  vol.  1,  p.  318. 

t  A  mummy  of  this  kind,  of  a  person  of  mature  age,  discovered  in  Kentucky,  is  now  in  the  cabinet 
of  the  American  Atiquarian  Society.  It  is  a  female.  Several  human  bodies  were  found  enwrapped 
carefully  in  skins  and  cloths.  They  were  inhumed  below  the  floor  of  the  cave ;  inluimed,  and  not  lodged 
in  catacombs. 


40  MUMMIES— KENTUCKY. 

from  decay..  The  outer  envelope  of  the  body  is  a  deer-skin,  probably  dried 
in  the  usual  way,  and  perhaps  softened  before  its  application  by  rubbing. 
The  next  covering  is  a  deer's  skin,  whose  hair  had  been  cut  away  by  a  sharp 
instrument  resembling  a  hatter's  knife.  The  remnant  of  the  hair  and  the 
gashes  in  the  skin  nearly  resemble  a  sheared  pelt  of  beaver.  The  next 
wrapper  is  of  cloth  made  of  twine  doubled  and  twisted.  But  the  thread 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  formed  by  the  wheel,  nor  the  web  by  the 
loom.  The  warp  and  filling  seem  to  have  been  crossed  and  knotted  by  an 
operation  like  that  of  the  fabricks  of  the  northwest  coast,  and  of  the  Sand- 
wich islands.  Such  a  bota,nist  as  the  lamented  Muhlenburgh  could  deter- 
mine the  plant  which  furnished  the  fibrous  material 

"The  innermost  tegument  is  a  mantle  of  cloth  like  the  preceding  ;  but 
furnished  with  large  brown  feathers,  arranged  and  fastened  with  great  art, 
so  as  to  be  capable  of  guarding  the  living  wearer  from  wet  and  cold.  The 
plumage  is  distinct  and  entire,  and  the  whole  bears  a  near  similitude  to  the 
feathery  cloaks  now  worn  by  the  nations  of  the  northwestern  coast  of 
America.  A  Wilson  might  tell  from  what  bird  they  were  derived. 

"  The  body  is  in  a  squatting  posture,  with  the  right  arm  reclining  for- 
ward, and  its  hand  encircling  the  right  leg.  The  left  arm  hangs  dow.n, 
with  its  hand  inclined  partly  under  the  seat.  The  individual,  who  was  a 
male,  did  not  probably  exceed  the  age  of  fourteen,  at  his  death.  There  is 
near  the  occiput  a  deep  and  extensive  fracture  of  the  skull,  which  proba- 
bly killed  him.  The  skin  has  sustained  little  injury ;  it  is  of  a  dusky  colour, 
but  the  natural  hue  cannot  be  decided  with  exactness,  from  its  present  ap- 
pearance. The  scalp,  with  small  exceptions,  is  covered  with  sorrel  or  foxy 
hair.  The  teeth  are  white  and  sound.  The  hands  and  feet,  in  their  shriv- 
elled state,  are  slender  and  delicate.  All  this  is  worthy  the  investigation  of 
our  acute  and  perspicacious  colleague,  Dr.  Holmes. 

"There  is  nothing  bituminous  or  aromatic  in  or  about  the  body,  like 
the  Egyptian  mummies,  nor  are  there  bandages  around  any  part.  Except 
the  several  wrappers,  the  body  is  totally  naked.  There  is  no  sign  of  a 
suture  or  incision  about  the  belly;  whence  it  seems  that  the  viscera  were 
not  removed. 


MUMMIES— NORTHWEST  COAST.  41 

"It  may  now  be  expected  that  I  should  offer  some  opinion,  as  to  the 
antiquity  and  race  of  this  singular  exsiccation. 

"First,  then,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  does  not  belong  to  that  class  of  white 
men  of  which  we  are  members. 

"2dly.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  it  ought  to  be  referred  to  the  bands  of 
Spanish  adventurers,  who,  between  the  years  1500  and  1600,  rambled  up 
the  Mississippi,  and  along  its  tributary  streams.  But  on  this  head  I  should 
like  to  know  the  opinion  of  my  learned  and  sagacious  friend,  Noah  Webster. 

"  3dly.  I  am  equally  obliged  to  reject  the  opinion  that  it  belonged 
to  any  of  the  tribes  of  aborigines,  now  or  lately  inhabiting  Kentucky. 

"  4thly.  The  mantle  of  the  feathered  work,  and  the  mantle  of  twisted 
threads,  so  nearly  resemble  the  fabricks  of  the  indigines  of  Wakash  and  the 
Pacifick  islands,  that  I  refer  this  individual  to  that  era  of  time,  and  that  gen- 
eration of  men,  which  preceded  the  Indians  of  the  Green  River,  and  of  the 
place  where  these  relicks  were  found.  This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by 
the  consideration  that  such  manufactures  are  not  prepared  by  the  actual 
and  resident  red  men  of  the  present  day.  If  the  Abbe  Clavigero  had  had 
this  case  before  him,  he  would  have  thought  of  the  people  who  constructed 
those  ancient  forts  and  mounds,  whose  exact  history  no  man  living  can  give. 
But  I  forbear  to  enlarge ;  my  intention  being  merely  to  manifest  my  re- 
spect to  the  society  for  having  enrolled  me  among  its  members,  and  to  invite 
the  attention  of  its  Antiquarians  to  further  inquiry  on  a  subject  of  such 
curiosity. 

"With  respect,  I  remain  yours, 

"  SAMUEL  L.  MITCHILL." 

It  would  appear  from  recent  researches  on  the  Northwest  coast  that 
the  natives  of  that  region  embalmed  their  dead  with  much  care,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  work  recently  published  by  W.  H.  Dall,*  the  description  of 
the  mummies  being  as  follows : 

"We  found  the  dead  disposed  of  in  various  ways  ;  first,  by  interment 
in  their  compartments  of  the  communal  dwelling,  as  already  described; 
second,  by  being  laid  on  a  rude  platform  of  drift-wood  or  stones  in  some 
convenient  rock  shelter.  These  lay  on  straw  and  moss,  covered  by  mat- 

*  Cont.  to  N.  A.  Ethnol.,  1877,  vol.  i,  p.  89. 


42  MUMMIES— NOKTHWEST  COAST. 

ting,  and  rarely  have  either  implements,  weapons,  or  carvings  associated 
with  them.  We  found  only  three  or  four  specimens  in  all  in  these  pla.ces, 
of  which  we  examined  a  great  number.  This  was  apparently  the  more 
ancient  form  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  and  one  which  more  recently  was 
still  pursued  in  the  case  of  poor  or  unpopular  individuals. 

" Lastly,  in  comparatively  modern  times,  probably  within  a  few  cen- 
turies, and  up  to  the  historic  period  (1740),  another  mode  was  adopted  for 
the  wealthy,  popular,  or  more  distinguished  class.  The  bodies  were  evis- 
cerated, cleansed  from  fatty  matters  in  running  water,  dried,  and  usually 
placed  in  suitable  cases  in  wrappings  of  fur  and  fine  grass  matting.  The 
body  was  usually  doubled  up  into  the  smallest  compass,  and  the  mummy 
case,  especially  in  the  case  of  children,  was  usually  suspended  (so  as  not 
to  touch  the  ground)  in  some  convenient  rock  shelter.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, the  prepared  body  was  placed  in  a  lifelike  position,  dressed  and  armed. 
They  were  placed  as  if  engaged  in  some  congenial  occupation,  such  as 
hunting,  fishing,  sewing,  etc.  With  them  were  also  placed  effigies  of  the 
animals  they  were  pursuing,  while  the  hunter  was  dressed  in  his  wooden 
armor  and  provided  with  an  enormous  mask,  all  ornamented  with  feathers 
and  a  countless  variety  of  wooden  pendants,  colored  in  gay  patterns.  All 
the  carvings  were  of  wood,  the  weapons  even  were  only  fac-similes  in 
wood  of  the  original  articles.  Among  the  articles  represented  were  drums, 
rattles,  dishes,  weapons,  effigies  of  men,  birds,  fish,  and  animals,  wooden 
armor  of  rods  or  scales  of  wood,  and  remarkable  masks,  so  arranged  that 
the  wearer  when  erect  could  only  see  the  ground  at  his  feet.  These  were 
worn  at  their  religious  dances  from  an  idea  that  a  spirit  which  was  supposed 
to  animate  a  temporary  idol  was  fatal  to  whoever  might  look  upon  it  while 
so  occupied.  An  extension  of  the  same  idea  led  to  the  masking  of  those 
who  had  gone  into  the  land  of  spirits. 

1  The  practice  of  preserving  the  bodies  of  those  belonging  to  the 
whaling  class — a  custom  peculiar  to  the  Kadiak  Innuit — has  erroneously 
been  confounded  with  the  one  now  described.  The  latter  included  women 
as  well  as  men,  and  all  those  whom  the  living  desired  particularly  to  honor. 
The  whalers,  however,  only  preserved  the  bodies  of  males,  and  they  were 
not  as.-MH-iuted  with  the  paraphernalia  of  those  I  have  described.  Indeed, 


MUMMIES— NORTHWEST  COAST.  43 

the  observations  I  have  been  able  to  make  show  the  bodies  of  the  whalers 
to  have  been  preserved  with  stone  weapons  and  actual  utensils  instead  of 
effigies,  and  with  the  meanest  apparel,  and  no  carvings  of  consequence. 
These  details,  and  those  of  many  other  customs  and  usages  of  which  the 
shell  heaps  bear  no  testimony  *  *  *  do  not  come  within  my  line." 

Martin  Saner,  secretary  to  Billings'  Expedition*  in  1802,  speaks  of  the 
Aleutian  Islanders  embalming  their  dead,  as  follows : 

"They  pay  respect,  however,  to  the  memory  of  the  dead,  for  they 
embalm  the  bodies  of  the  men  with  dried  moss  and  grass ;  bury  them  in 
their  best  attire,  in  a  sitting  posture,  in  a  strong  box,  with  their  darts  and 
instruments;  and  decorate  the  tomb  with  various  coloured  mats,  embroidery, 
and  paintings.  With  women,  indeed,  they  use  less  ceremony.  A  mother 
will  keep  a  dead  child  thus  embalmed  in  their  hut  for  some  months,  con- 
stantly wiping  it  dry;  and  they  bury  it  when  it  begins  to  smell,  or  when 
they  get  reconciled  to  parting  with  it." 

Regarding  these  same  people,  a  writer  in  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin 
gives  this  account: 

"  The  schooner  William  Sutton,  belonging  to  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company,  has  arrived  from  the  seal  islands  of  the  company  with  the  mum- 
mified remains  of  Indians  who  lived  on  an  island  north  of  Ounalaska  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  This  contribution  to  science  was  secured  by 
Captain  Henning,  an  agent  of  the  company,  who  has  long  resided  at  Ouna- 
laska. In  his  transactions  with  the  Indians  he  learned  that  tradition  among 
the  Aleuts  assigned  Kagamale,  the  island  in  question,  as  the  last  resting- 
place  of  a  great  chief,  known  as  Karkhayahouchak.  Last  year  the  captain 
was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kagamale,  in  quest  of  sea-otter  and  other  furs 
and  he  bore  up  for  the  island,  with  the  intention  of  testing  the  truth  of  the 
tradition  he  had  heard.  He  had  more  difficulty  in  entering  the  cave  than 
in  finding  it,  his  schooner  having  to  beat  on  and  off  shore  for  three  days. 
Finally,  he  succeeded  in  effecting  a  landing,  and  clambering  up  the  rocks 
he  found  himself  in  the  presence  of  the  dead  chief,  his  family  and  relatives. 

"The  cave  smelt  strongly  of  hot  sulphurous  vapors.    With  great  care 

*Billiiig8'  Exped.,  1802,  p.  101. 


44  MUMMIES— NORTHWEST  COAST. 

the  mummies  were  removed,  and  all  the  little  trinkets  and  ornaments  scat- 
tered around  were  also  taken  away. 

"  In  all  there  are  eleven  packages  of  bodies.  Only  two  or  three  have 
as  yet  been  opened.  The  body  of  the  chief  is  inclosed  in  a  large  basket- 
like  structure,  about  four  feet  in  height.  Outside  the  wrappings  are  finely- 
wrought  sea-grass  matting,  exquisitely  close  in  texture,  and  skins.  At 
the  bottom  is  a  broad  hoop  or  basket  of  thinly-cut  wood,  and  adjoining  the 
center  portions  are  pieces  of  body  armor  composed  of  reeds  bound  together. 
The  body  is  covered  with  the  fine  skin  of  the  sea-otter,  always  a  mark  of 
distinction  in  the  interments  of  the  Aleuts,  and  round  the  whole  package 
are  stretched  the  meshes  of  a  fish-net,  made  of  the  sinews  of  the  sea  lion; 
also  those  of  a  bird-net.  There  are  evidently  some  bulky  articles  inclosed 
with  the  chief's  body,  and  the  whole  package  differs  very  much  from  the 
others,  which  more  resemble,  in  their  brown-grass  matting,  consignments  of 
crude  sugar  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  than  the  remains  of  human  beings. 
The  bodies  of  a  pappoose  and  of  a  very  little  child,  which  probably  died 
at  birth  or  soon  after  it,  have  sea-otter  skins  around  them.  One  of  the  feet 
of  the  latter  projects,  with  a  toe-nail  visible.  The  remaining  mummies  are 
of  adults. 

1  'One  of  the  packages  has  been  opened,  and  it  reveals  a  man's  body  in 
tolerable  preservation,  but  with  a  large  portion  of  the  face  decomposed. 
This  and  the  other  bodies  were  doubled  up  at  death  by  severing  some  of 
the  muscles  at  the  hip  and  knee  joints  and  bending  the  limbs  downward 
horizontally  upon  the  trunk.  Perhaps  the  most  peculiar  package,  next  to 
that  of  the  chief,  is  one  which  incloses  in  a  single  matting,  with  sea-lion 
.skins,  the  bodies  of  a  man  and  woman.  The  collection  also  embraces  a 
couple  of  skulls,  male  and  female,  which  have  still  the  hair  attached  to  the 
scalp.  The  hair  has  changed  its  color  to  a  brownish  red.  The  relics 
obtained  with  the  bodies  include  a  few  wooden  vessels  scooped  out  smoothly; 
a  piece  of  dark,  greenish,  flat  stone,  harder  than  the  emerald,  which  the 
Indians  use  to  tan  skins;  a  scalp-lock  of  jet-black  hair;  a  small  rude  figure, 
which  may  have  been  a  very  ugly  doll  or  an  idol ;  two  or  three  tiny  carv- 
ings in  ivory  of  the  sea-lion,  very  neatly  executed,  a  comb,  a  necklet 


UEN-BTJEIAL.  45 

made  of  birds'  claws  inserted  into  one  another,  and  several  specimens  of 
little  bags,  and  a  cap  plaited  out  of  sea-grass  and  almost  water-tight." 

With  the  foregoing  examples  as  illustration,  the  matter  of  embalmment 
may  be  for  the  present  dismissed,  with  the  advice  to  observers  that  particular 
care  should  be  taken,  in  case  mummies  are  discovered,  to  ascertain  whether 
the  bodies  have  been  submitted  to  a  regular  preservative  process,  or  owe 
their  protection  to  ingredients  in  the  soil  of  their  graves  or  to  desiccation 

in  arid  districts. 

IJEN-BUEIAL. 

To  close  the  subject  of  subterranean  burial  proper,  the  following 
account  of  urn-burial  in  Foster*  may  be  added : 

"  Urn-burial  appears  to  have  been  practiced  to  some  extent  by  the 
mound-builders,  particularly  in  some  of  the  Southern  States.  In  the  mounds 
on  the  Wateree  River,  near  Camden,  S.  C  ,  according  to  Dr  Blanding,  ranges 
of  vases,  one  above  the  other,  filled  with  human  remains,  were  found.  Some- 
times when  the  mouth  of  the  vase  is  small  the  skull  is  placed  with  the  face 
downward  in  the  opening,  constituting  a  sort  of  cover.  Entire  cemeteries 
have  been  found  in  which  urn-burial  alone  seems  to  have  been  practiced. 
Such  a  one  was  accidentally  discovered  not  many  years  since  in  Saint 
Catherine's  Island,  on  the  coast  of  Georgia.  Professor  Swallow  informs  me 
that  from  a  mound  at  New  Madrid,  Mo  ,  he  obtained  a  human  skull  inclosed 
in  an  earthen  jar,  the  lips  of  which  were  too  small  to  admit  of  its  extrac- 
tion. It  must  therefore  have  been  molded  on  the  head  after  death." 

"A  similar  mode  of  burial  was  practiced  by  the  Chaldeans,  where  the 
funeral  jars  often  contain  a  human  cranium  much  too  expanded  to  admit  of 
the  possibility  of  its  passing  out  of  it,  so  that  either  the  clay  must  have  been 
modeled  over  the  corpse,  and  then  baked,  or  the  neck  of  the  jar  must  have 
been  added  subsequently  to  the  other  rites  of  interment."f 

It  is  with  regret  that  the  writer  feels  obliged  to  differ  from  the  distin- 
guished author  of  the  work  quoted  regarding  urn-burial,  for  notwithstand- 
ing that  it  has  been  employed  by  some  of  the  Central  and  Southern 
American  tribes,  it  is  not  believed  to  have  been  customary,  but  to  a  very 

*  Pre-Historic  Races,  1873,  p.  WJ. 

t  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Book  1,  chap.  198,  note. 


46  UEN-BUEIAL. 

limited  extent,  in  North  America,  except  as  a  secondary  interment.  He  must 
admit  that  he  himself  has  found  bones  in  urns  or  ollas  in  the  graves  of  New 
Mexico  and  California,  but  under  circumstances  that  would  seem  to  indicate 
a  deposition  long  subsequent  to  death.  In  the  graves  of  the  ancient  peoples 
of  California  a  number  of  ollas  were  found  in  long-used  burying  places,  and 
it  is  probable  that  as  the  bones  were  dug  up  time  and  again  for  new  burials 
they  were  simply  tossed  into  pots,  which  were  convenient  receptacles,  or 
it  may  have  been  that  bodies  were  allowed  to  repose  in  the  earth  long 
enough  for  the  fleshy  parts  to  decay,  and  the  bones  were  then  collected, 
placed  in  urns,  and  reinterred.  Dr.  E.  Foreman,  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, furnishes  the  following  account  of  urns  used  for  burial : 

"  I  would  call  your  attention  to  an  earthenware  burial-urn  and  cover, 
Nos.  27976  and  27977,  National  Museum,  but  very  recently  received  from 
Mr.  William  McKinley,  of  Milledgeville,  Ga.  It  was  exhumed  on  his 
plantation,  ten  miles  below  that  city,  on  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Oconee 
River,  now  covered  with  almost  impassable  canebrakes,  tall  grasses,  and 
briers.  We  had  a  few  months  ago  from  the  same  source  one  of  the  covers, 
of  which  the  ornamentation  was  different  but  more  entire.  A  portion  of  a 
similar  cover  has  been  received  also  from  Chattanooga,  Ga.  Mr.  McKinley 
ascribes  the  use  of  these  urns  and  covers  to  the  Muscogees,  a  branch  of 
the  Creek  Nation." 

These  urns  are  made  of  baked  clay,  and  are  shaped  somewhat  like 
the  ordinary  steatite  ollas  found  in  the  California  coast  graves,  but  the  bot- 
toms instead  of  being  round  run  down  to  a  sharp  apex  ;  on  the  top  was  a 
cover,  the  upper  part  of  which  also  terminated  in  an  apex,  and  around  the 
border,  near  where  it  rested  on  the  edge  of  the  vessel,  are  indented  scroll 
ornamentations. 

The  burial-urns  of  New  Mexico  are  thus  described  by  E.  A.  Barber  :* 

'  Burial-urns  *  comprise  vessels  or  ollas  without  handles,  for 

cremation,  usually  being  from  10  to  15  inches  in  height,  with  broad,  open 
mouths,  and  made  of  coarse  clay,  with  a  laminated  exterior  (partially  or 
entirely  ornamented).  Frequently  the  indentations  extend  simply  around 
the  neck  or  rim,  the  lower  portion  being  plain." 

*Anu>r.  Natural.,  1870,  vol.  x,  p.  455  ct  seq. 


SURFACE  BURIAL.  47 

So  far  as  is  known,  up  to  the  present  time  no  burial-urns  have  been 
found  in  North  America  resembling  those  discovered  in  Nicaragua  by  Dr. 
J.  C.  Bransford,  U.  S.  N.,  but  it  is  quite  within  the  range  of  possibility  that 
future  researches  in  regions  not  far  distant  from  that  which  he  explored  may 

reveal  similar  treasures. 

SURFACE  BURIAL. 

This  mode  of  interment  was  practiced  to  only  a  limited  extent,  so  far  as 
can  be  discovered,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  most  cases  it  was  employed 
as  a  temporary  expedient  when  the  survivors  were  pressed  for  time.  The 
Seminoles  of  Florida  are  said  to  have  buried  in  hollow  trees,  the  bodies 
being  placed  in  an  upright  position,  occasionally  the  dead  being  crammed 
into  a  hollow  log  lying  on  the  ground.  With  some  of  the  Eastern  tribes  a 
log  was  split  in  half  and  hollowed  out  sufficiently  large  to  contain  the 
corpse ;  it  was  then  lashed  together  with  withes  and  permitted  to  remain 
where  it  was  originally  placed.  In  some  cases  a  pen  was  built  over  and 
around  it.  This  statement  is  corroborated  by  Mr.  R.  S.  Robertson,  of  Fort 
Wavne,  Ind.,  who  states  in  a  communication  received  in  1877  that  the 

«/  ' 

Miamis  practiced  surface  burial  in  two  different  ways : 

u  *  *  *  ist.  The  surface  burial  in  hollow  logs.  These  have  been 
found  in  heavy  forests.  Sometimes  a  tree  has  been  split  and  the  two  halves 
hollowed  out  to  receive  the  body,  when  it  was  either  closed  with  withes  or 
confined  to  the  ground  with  crossed  stakes ;  and  sometimes  a  hollow  tree  is 
used  by  closing  the  ends. 

"  2d.  Surface  burial  where  the  body  was  covered  by  a  small  pen  of 
logs  laid  up  as  we  build  a  cabin,  but  drawing  in  every  course  until  they 
meet  in  a  single  log  at  the  top." 

Romantically  conceived,  and  carried  out  to  the  fullest  possible  extent 
in  accordance  with  the  ante  mortem  wishes  of  the  dead,  were  the  obsequies 
of  Blackbird,  the  great  chief  of  the  Omahas.  The  account  is  given  by 
George  Catlin  :* 

"  He  requested  them  to  take  his  body  down  the  river  to  this  his  favor- 
ite haunt,  and  on  the  pinnacle  of  this  towering  bluff  to  bury  him  on  the 
back  of  his  favorite  war-horse,  which  was  to  be  buried  alive  under  him, 

*  Manners,  Customs,  &c.,  of  North  American  Indians,  1844,  vol.  ii,  p.  5. 


48  CAIBtf-BURIAL. 

from  whence  he  could  see,  as  he  said, . '  the  Frenchmen  passing  up  and  down 
the  river  in  their  boats.'  He  owned,  amongst  many  horses,  a  noble  white 
steed,  that  was  led  to  the  top  of  the  grass-covered  hill,  and  with  great  pomp 
and  ceremony,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  nation  and  several  of  the  fur- 
traders  and  the  Indian  agent,  he  was  placed  astride  of  his  horse's  back, 
with  his  bow  in  his  hand,  and  his  shield  and  quiver  slung,  with  his  pipe  and 
his  medicine  bag,  with  his  supply  of  dried  meat,  and  his  tobacco-pouch 
replenished  to  last  him  through  the  journey  to  the  beautiful  hunting  grounds 
of  the  shades  of  his  fathers,  with  his  flint  and  steel  and  his  tinder  to  light 
his  pipes  by  the  way ;  the  scalps  he  had  taken  from  his  enemies'  heads  could 
be  trophies  for  nobody  else,  and  were  hung  to  the  bridle  of  his  horse.  He 
was  in  full  dress,  and  fully  equipped,  and  on  his  head  waved  to  the  last 
moment  his  beautiful  head-dress  of  the  war-eagles'  plumes.  In  this  plight, 
and  the  last  funeral  honors  having  been  performed  by  the  medicine-men, 
every  warrior  of  his  band  painted  the  palm  and  fingers  of  his  right  hand 
with  vermilion,  which  was  stamped  and  perfectly  impressed  on  the  milk- 
white  sides  of  his  devoted  horse.  This  all  done,  turfs  were  brought  and 
placed  around  the  feet  and  legs  of  the  horse,  and  gradually  laid  up  to  its 
sides,  and  at  last  over  the  back  and  head  of  the  unsuspecting  animal,  and 
last  of  all  over  the  head  and  even  the  eagle  plumes  of  its  valiant  rider, 
where  all  together  have  smouldered  and  remained  undisturbed  to  the  pres- 
ent day." 

CAIRX-BUBIAL. 

The  next  mode  of  interment  to  be  considered  is  that  of  cairn  or  rock 
burial,  which  has  prevailed  and  is  still  common  to  a  considerable  extent 
among  the  tribes  living  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevadas. 

In  the  summer  of  1872  the  writer  visited  one  of  these  rock  cemeteries  in 
middle  Utah,  which  had  been  used  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  or 
twenty  years.  It  was  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a  rock  slide,  upon  the  side 
of  an  almost  inaccessible  mountain,  in  a  position  so  carefully  chosen  for 
concealment  that  it  would  have  been  almost  impossible  to  find  it  without  a 
guide.  Several  of  the  graves  were  opened  and  found  to  have  been  con- 
structed in  the  following  manner :  A  number  of  bowlders  had  been  removed 
from  the  bed  of  the  slide  until  a  sufficient  cavity  had  been  obtained ;  this 

lined  with  skins,  the  corpse  placed  therein,  with  weapons,  ornaments, 


ANTIQUITY  OF  CREMATION  49 

etc.,  and  covered  over  with  saplings  of  the  mountain  aspen  ;  on  top  of  these 
the  removed  bowlders  were  piled,  forming  a  huge  cairn,  which  appeared 
large  enough  to  have  marked  the  last  resting  place  of  an  elephant.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  graves  were  scattered  the  osseous  remains  of  a 
number  of  horses  which  had  been  sacrificed  no  doubt  during  the  funeral 
ceremonies.  In  one  of  the  graves,  said  to  contain  the  body  of  a  chief,  in 
addition  to  a  number  of  articles  useful  and  ornamental,  were  found  parts  of 
the  skeleton  of  a  boy,  and  tradition  states  that  a  captive  boy  was  buried 
alive  at  this  place. 

In  connection  with  this  mode  of  burial  it  may  be  said  that  the  ancient 
Balearic  Islanders  covered  their  dead  with  a  heap  of  stones,  but  this  cere- 
mony was  preceded  by  an  operation  which  consisted  in  cutting  the  body  in 
small  pieces  and  collecting  in  a  pot. 

CREMATION. 

Next  should  be  noted  this  mode  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  a  common 
custom  to  a  considerable  extent  among  North  American  tribes,  especially 
those  living  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  although  we 
have  undoubted  evidence  that  it  was  also  practiced  among  the  more  eastern 
ones.  This  rite  may  be  considered  as  peculiarly  interesting  from  its  great 
antiquity,  for  Tegg  informs  us  that  it  reached  as  far  back  as  the  Theban 
war,  in  the  account  of  which  mention  is  made  of  the  burning  of  Menoeacus 
and  Archemorus,  who  were  contemporary  with  Jair,  eighth  judge  of  Israel. 
It  was  common  in  the  interior  of  Asia  and  among  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  has  also  prevailed  among  the  Hindoos  up  to  the  present  time. 
In  fact,  it  is  now  rapidly  becoming  a  custom  among  civilized  people. 

While  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  similarity  between  the  performance 
of  this  rite  among  the  peoples  spoken  of  and  the  Indians  of  North  America, 
yet,  did  space  admit,  a  discussion  might  profitably  be  entered  upon  regard- 
ing the  details  of  it  among  the  ancients  and  the  origin  of  the  ceremony.  As 
it  is,  simple  narrations  of  cremation  in  this  country,  with  discursive  notes 
and  an  account  of  its  origin  among  the  Nishinams  of  California,  by  Stephen 
Powers,*  seem  to  be  all  that  is  required  at  this  time : 

*  Cout.  to  N.  A.  Ethnol.,  1877,  vol.  iii,  p.  341. 
4  Y 


50  CREMATION  MYTHS. 

"The  moon  and  the  coyote  wrought  together  in  creating  all  things  that 
exist.  The  moon  was  good,  but  the  coyote  was  bad.  In  making  men  and 
women  the  moon  wished  to  so  fashion  their  souls  that  when  they  died  they 
should  return  to  the  earth  after  two  or  three  days,  as  he  himself  does  when 
he  dies.  But  the  coyote  was  evil  disposed,  and  said  this  should  not  be, 
but  that  when  men  died  their  friends  should  burn  their  bodies,  and  once  a 
year  make  a  great  mourning  for  them ;  and  the  coyote  prevailed.  So, 
presently  when  a  deer  died,  they  burned  his  body,  as  the  coyote  had  decreed, 
and  after  a  year  they  made  a  great  mourning  for  him.  But  the  moon  cre- 
ated the  rattlesnake  and  caused  it  to  bite  the  coyote's  son,  so  that  he  died. 
Now,  though  the  coyote  had  been  willing  to  burn  the  deer's  relations,  he 
refused  to  burn  his  own  son.  Then  the  moon  said  unto  him,  '  This  is  your 
own  rule.  You  would  have  it  so,  and  now  your  son  shall  be  burned  like 
the  others.'  So  he  was  burned,  and  after  a  year  the  coyote  mourned  for 
him.  Thus  the  law  was  established  over  the  coyote  also,  and,  as  he  had 
dominion  over  men,  it  prevailed  over  men  likewise. 

"This  story  is  utterly  worthless  for  itself,  but  it  has  its  value  in  that  it 
shows  there  was  a  time  when  the  California  Indians  did  not  practice  crema- 
tion, which  is  also  established  by  other  traditions.  It  hints  at  the  additional 
fact  that  the  Nishinams  to  this  day  set  great  store  by  the  moon  ;  consider  it 
their  benefactor  in  a  hundred  ways,  arid  observe  its  changes  for  a  hundred 
purposes." 

Another  myth  regarding  cremation  is  given  by  Adam  Johnston,  in 
Schoolcraft,*  and  relates  to  the  Bpnaks,  or  root-diggers : 

"The  first  Indians  that  lived  were  coyotes.  When  one  of  their  number 
died  the  body  became  full  of  little  animals  or  spirits,  as  they  thought  them. 
After  crawling  over  the  body  for  a  time  they  took  all  manner  of  shapes, 
some  that  of  the  deer,  others  the  elk,  antelope,  etc.  It  was  discovered, 
however,  that  great  numbers  were  taking  wings,  and  for  a  while  they  sailed 
about  in  the  air,  but  eventually  they  would  fly  off  to  the  moon.  The  old 
coyotes  or  Indians,  fearing  the  earth  might  become  depopulated  in  this  way, 
concluded  to  stop  it  at  once,  and  ordered  that  when  one  of  their  people  died 

"Hist.  Indian  tribes  of  the  United  States,  1854,  part  IV,  p.  224. 


CREMATION— OREGON.  51 

the  body  must  be  burnt.  Ever  after  they  continued  to  burn  the  bodies  of 
deceased  persons." 

Ross  Cox*  gives  an  account  of  the  process  as  performed  by  the  Tol- 
kotins  of  Oregon : 

"  The  ceremonies  attending  the  dead  are  very  singular,  and  quite  pecu- 
liar to  this  tribe.  The  body  of  the  deceased  is  kept  nine  days  laid  out  in 
his  lodge,  and  on  the  tenth  it  is  buried.  For  this  purpose  a  rising  ground 
is  selected,  on  which  are  laid  a  number  of  sticks,  about  seven  feet  long,  of 
cypress,  neatly  split,  and  in  the  interstices  is  placed  a  quantity  of  gummy 
wood.  During  these  operations  invitations  are  dispatched  to  the  natives  of 
the  neighboring  villages  requesting  their  attendance  at  the  ceremony. 
When  the  preparations  are  perfected  the  corpse  is  placed  on  the  pile,  which 
is  immediately  ignited,  and  during  the  process  of  burning,  the  bystanders 
appear  to  be  in  a  high  state  of  merriment.  If  a  stranger  happen  to  be  pres- 
est  they  invariably  plunder  him ;  but  if  that  pleasure  be  denied  them,  they 
never  separate  without  quarreling  among  themselves.  Whatever  property 
the  deceased  possessed  is  placed  about  the  corpse ;  and  if  he  happened  to 
be  a  person  of  consequence,  his  friends  generally  purchase  a  capote,  a  shirt, 
a  pair  of  trousers,  etc.,  which  articles  are  also  laid  around  the  pile.  If  the 
doctor  who  attended  him  has  escaped  uninjured,  he  is  obliged  to  be  present 
at  the  ceremony,  and  for  the  last  time  tries  his  skill  in  restoring  the  defunct 
to  animation.  Failing  in  this,  he  throws  on  the  body  a  piece  of  leather,  or 
some  other  article,  as  a  present,  which  in  some  measure  appeases  the  resent- 
ment of  his  relatives,  and  preserves  the  unfortunate  quack  from  being  mal- 
treated. During  the  nine  days  the  corpse  is  laid  out  the  widow  of  the 
deceased  is  obliged  to  sleep  along  side  it  from  sunset  to  sunrise  ;  and  from 
this  custom  there  is  no  relaxation  even  during  the  hottest  days  of  sum- 
mer !  While  the  doctor  is  performing  his  last  operations  she  must  lie  on 
the  pile,  and  after  the  fire  is  applied  to  it  she  cannot  stir  until  the  doctor 
orders  her  to  be  removed,  which,  however,  is  never  done  until  her  body  is 
completely  covered  with  blisters.  After  being  placed  on  her  legs,  she  is 
obliged  to  pass  her  hands  gently  through  the  flame  and  collect  some  of  the 
liquid  fat  which  issues  from  the  corpse,  with  which  she  is  permitted  to  wet 

*  Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River,  1831,  vol.  ii,  p.  387. 


52  CKEMATION— OKEGOK 

her  face  and  body!  When  the  friends  of  the  deceased  observe  the  sinews 
of  the  legs  and  arms  beginning  to  contract  they  compel  the  unfortunate 
widow  to  go  again  on  the  pile,  and  by  dint  of  hard  pressing  to  straighten 
those  members. 

"  If  during  her  husband's  lifetime  she  has  been  known  to  have  com- 
mitted any  act  of  infidelity  or  omitted  administering  to  him  savory  food  or 
neglected  his  clothing,  &c.,  she  is  now  made  to  suffer  severely  for  such 
lapses  of  duty  by  his  relations,  who  frequently  fling  her  in  the  funeral  pile, 
from  which  she  is  dragged  by  her  friends ;  and  thus  between  alternate 
scorching  and  cooling  she  is  dragged  backwards  and  forwards  until  she  falls 
into  a  state  of  insensibility. 

"After  the  process  of  burning  the  corpse  has  terminated,  the  widow 
collects  the  larger  bones,  which  she  rolls  up  in  an  envelope  of  birch  bark, 
and  which  she  is  obliged  for  some  years  afterwards  to  carry  on  her  back. 
She  is  now  considered  and  treated  as  a  slave;  all  the  laborious  duties  of 
cooking,  collecting  fuel,  etc.,  devolve  on  her.  She  must  obey  the  orders  of 
all  the  women,  and  even  of  the  children  belonging  to  the  village,  and  the 
slightest  mistake  or  disobedience  subjects  her  to  the  infliction  of  a  heavy 
punishment.  The  ashes  of  her  husband  are  carefully  collected  and  deposited 
in  a  grave,  which  it  is  her  duty  to  keep  free  from  weeds ;  and  should  any 
such  appear,  she  is  obliged  to  root  them  out  with  her  fingers.  During  this 
operation  her  husband's  relatives  stand  by  and  beat  her  in  a  cruel  manner 
until  the  task  is  completed  or  she  falls  a  victim  to  their  brutality.  The 
wretched  widows,  to  avoid  this  complicated  cruelty,  frequently  commit 
suicide.  Should  she,  however,  linger  on  for  three  or  four  years,  the  friends 
of  her  husband  agree  to  relieve  her  from  her  painful  mourning.  This  is  a 
ceremony  of  much  consequence,  and  the  preparations  for  it  occupy  a  con- 
siderable time,  generally  from  six  to  eight  months.  The  hunters  proceed  to 
the  various  districts  in  which  deer  and  beaver  abound,  and  after  collecting 
large  quantities  of  meat  and  fur  return  to  the  village.  The  skins  are  im- 
mediately bartered  for  guns,  ammunition,  clothing,  trinkets,  &c.  Invita- 
tions are  then  sent  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  various  friendly  villages,  and 
when  they  have  all  assembled  the  feast  commences,  and  presents  are  dis- 
tributed to  each  visitor.  The  object  of  their  meeting  is  then  explained,  and 


VERIFICATION  OF  DEATH-CAEAIBS.  53 

the  woman  is  brought  forward,  still  carrying  on  her  back  the  bones  of  her 
late  husband,  which  are  now  removed  and  placed  in  a  covered  box,  which 
is  nailed  or  otherwise  fastened  to  a  post  twelve  feet  high.  Her  conduct  as 
a  faithful  widow  is  next  highly  eulogized,  and  the  ceremony  of  her  manu- 
mission is  completed  by  one  man  powdering  on  her  head  the  down  of  birds 
and  another  pouring  on  it  the  contents  of  a  bladder  of  oil !  She  is  then  at 
liberty  to  marry  again  or  lead  a  life  of  single  blessedness;  but  few  of  them,  I 
believe,  wish  to  encounter  the  risk  attending  a  second  widowhood. 

"  The  men  are  condemned  to  a  similar  ordeal,  but  they  do  not  bear 
it  with  equal  fortitude,  and  numbers  fly  to  distant  quarters  to  avoid  the 
brutal  treatment  which  custom  has  established  as  a  kind  of  religious  rite." 

Perhaps  a  short  review  of  some  of  the  peculiar  and  salient  points  of 
this  narrative  may  be  permitted.  It  is  stated  that  the  corpse  is  kept  nine 
days  after  death — certainly  a  long  period  of  time,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  Indians  as  a  rule  endeavor  to  dispose  of  their  dead  as  soon  as  possible. 
This  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  it  is  to  give  the  friends 
and  relatives  an  opportunity  of  assembling,  verifying  the  death,  and  of  mak- 
ing proper  preparations  for  the  ceremony.  With  regard  to  the  verification 
of  the  dead  person,  William  Sheldon*  gives  an  account  of  a  similar  custom 
which  was  common  among  the  Caraibs  of  Jamaica,  and  which  seems  to 
throw  some  light  upon  the  unusual  retention  of  deceased  persons  by  the 
tribe  in  question,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  is  mere  hypothesis: 

"  They  had  some  very  extraordinary  customs  respecting  deceased  per- 
sons. When  one  of  them  died,  it  was  necessary  that  all  his  relations  should 
see  him  and  examine  the  body  in  order  to  ascertain  that  he  died  a  natural 
death.  They  acted  so  rigidly  on  this  principle,  that  if  one  relative  remained 
who  had  not  seen  the  body  all  the  others  could  not  convince  that  one  that 
the  death  was  natural.  In  such  a  case  the  absent  relative  considered  him- 
self as  bound  in  honor  to  consider  all  the  other  relatives  as  having  been 
accessories  to  the  death  of  the  kinsman,  and  did  not  rest  until  he  had  killed 
one  of  them  to  revenge  the  death  of  the  deceased.  If  a  Caraib  died  in 
Martinico  or  Gruadaloupe  and  his  relations  lived  in  St.  Vincents,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  summon  them  to  see  the  body,  and  several  months  sometimes 

*  Trans.  Am.  Antiq.  Soc.,  1820,  vol.  1,  p.  377. 


54  REMARKS  ON  CREMATION. 

elapsed  before  it  could  be  finally  interred.  When  a  Caraib  died  lie  was 
immediately  painted  all  over  with  roucou,  and  had  his  mustachios  and  the 
black  streaks  in  his  face  made  with  a  black  paint,  which  was  different  from 
that  used  in  their  lifetime.  A  kind  of  grave  was  then  dug  in  the  carbet 
where  he  died,  about  4  feet  square  and  6  or  7  feet  deep.  The  body  was 
let  down  in  it,  when  sand  was  thrown  in,  which  reached  to  the  knees,  and 
the  body  was  placed  in  it  in  a  sitting  posture,  resembling  that  in  which  they 
crouched  round  the  fire  or  the  table  when  alive,  with  the  elbows  on  the 
knees  and  the  palms  of  the  hands  against  the  cheeks.  No  part  of  the  body 
touched  the  outside  of  the  grave,  which  was  covered  with  wood  and  mats 
imtil  all  tile  relations  had  examined  it.  When  the  customary  examinations 
and  inspections  were  ended  the  hole  was  filled,  and  the  bodies  afterwards 
remained  undisturbed.  The  hair  of  the  deceased  was  kept  tied  behind. 
In  this  way  bodies  have  remained  several  months  without  any  symptoms 
of  decay  or  producing  any  disagreeable  smell.  The  roucou  not  only  pre- 
served them  from  the  sun,  air,  and  insects  during  their  lifetime,  but  prob- 
ably had  the  same  effect  after  death.  The  arms  of  the  Caraibs  were  placed 
by  them  when  they  were  covered  over  for  inspection,  and  they  were  finally 
buried  with  them." 

Again,  we  are  told  that  during  the  burning  the  by-standers  are  very 
merry.  This  hilarity  is  similar  to  that  shown  by  the  Japanese  at  a  funeral, 
who  rejoice  that  the  troubles  and  worries  of  the  world  are  over  for  the  for- 
tunate dead.  The  plundering  of  strangers  present,  it  may  be  remembered, 
also  took  place  among  the  Indians  of  the  Carolinas.  As  already  mentioned 
on  a  preceding  page,  the  cruel  manner  in  which  the  widow  is  treated  seems 
to  be  a  modification  of  the  Hindoo  suttee,  but  if  the  account  be  true,  it 
would  appear  that  death  might  be  preferable  to  such  torments. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  Corsica,  as  late  as  1743,  if  a  husband 
died  women  threw  themselves  upon  the  widow  and  beat  her  severely. 
Bruhier  quaintly  remarks  that  this  custom  obliged  women  to  take  good  care 
of  their  husbands. 

George  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft,*  states  that  among  the  Indians  of  Clear 

*  Hist.  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,  1853,  part  iii,  p.  112. 


CBEMATION— CALIFORNIA.  55 

Lake,  California,  "the  body  is  consumed  upon  a  scaffold  built  over  a  hole, 
into  which  the  ashes  are  thrown  and  covered." 

According-  to  Stephen  Powers,*  cremation  was  common  among  the 
Se-nel  of  California.  He  thus  relates  it: 

"  The  dead  are  mostly  burned.  Mr.  Willard  described  to  me  a  scene 
of  incremation  that  he  once  witnessed  which  was  frightful  for  its  exhibitions 
of  fanatic  frenzy  and  infatuation.  The  corpse  was  that  of  a  wealthy  chief- 
tain, and  as  he  lay  upon  the  funeral  pyre  they  placed  in  his  mouth  two  gold 
twenties,  and  other  smaller  coins  in  his  ears  and  hands,  on  his  breast,  &c., 
besides  all  his  finery,  his  feather  mantles,  plumes,  clothing,  shell  money, 
his  fancy  bows,  painted  arrows,  &c.  When  the  torcli  was  applied  they  set 
up  a  mournful  ululation,  chanting  and  dancing  about  him,  gradually  work- 
ing themselves  into  a  wild  and  ecstatic  raving,  which  seemed  almost  a 
demoniacal  possession,  leaping,  howling,  lacerating  their  flesh  Many 
seemed  to  lose  all  self-control.  The  younger  English-speaking  Indians 
generally  lend  themselves  charily  to  such  superstitious  work,  especially  if 
American  spectators  are  present,  but  even  they  were  carried  away  by  the 
old  contagious  frenzy  of  their  race.  One  stripped  off  a  broadcloth  coat, 
quite  new  and  fine,  and  ran  frantically  yelling  and  cast  it  upon  the  blazing 
pile.  Another  rushed  up  and  was  about  to  throw  on  a  pile  of  California 
blankets,  when  a  white  man,  to  test  his  sincerity,  offered  him  $16  for  them, 
jingling  the  bright  coins  before  his  eyes,  but  the  savage  (for  such  he  had 
become  again  for  the  moment),  otherwise  so  avaricious,  hurled  him  away 
with  a  yell  of  execration  and  ran  and  threw  his  offering  into  the  flames. 
Squaws,  even  more  frenzied,  wildly  flung  upon  the  pyre  all  they  had  in 
the  world — their  dearest  ornaments,  their  gaudiest  dresses,  their  strings  of 
glittering  shells.  Screaming,  wailing,  tearing  their  hair,  beating  their 
breasts  in  their  mad  and  insensate  infatuation,  some  of  them  would  have 
cast  themselves  bodily  into  the  flaming  ruins  and  perished  with  the  chief 
had  they  not  been  restrained  by  their  companions.  Then  the  bright,  swift 
flames  with  their  hot  tongues  licked  this  '  cold  obstruction'  into  chemic 
change,  and  the  once  '  delighted  spirit '  of  the  savage  was  borne  up.  '• 

"It  seems  as  if  the  savage   shared  in  Shakspeare's  shudder  at  the 

*  Contrib.  to  N.  A.  Etlmol.,  1877,  vol.  iii,  p.  169. 


56  CREMATION— CALIFORNIA. 

thought  of  rotting  in  the  dismal  grave,  for  it  is  the  one  passion  of  his  super- 
stition to  think  of  the  soul  of  his  departed  friend  set  free  and  purified  by 
the  swift  purging  heat  of  the  flames,  not  dragged  down  to  be  clogged  and 
bound  in  the  moldering  body,  but  borne  up  in  the  soft,  warm  chariots  of  the 
smoke  toward  the  beautiful  sun,  to  bask  in  his  warmth  and  light,  and  then 
to  fly  away  to  the  Happy  Western  Land.  What  wonder  if  the  Indian 
shrinks  with  unspeakable  horror  from  the  thought  of  burying  his  friend- s 
soul! — of  pressing  and  ramming  down  with  pitiless  clods  that  inner  some- 
thing which  once  took  such  delight  in  the  sweet  light  of  the  sun !  What 
wonder  if  it  takes  years  to  persuade  him  to  do  otherwise  and  follow  our  cus- 
tom !  What  wonder  if  even  then  he  does  it  with  sad  fears  and  misgivings ! 
Why  not  let  him  keep  his  custom  !  In  the  gorgeous  landscapes  and  balmy 
climate  of  California  and  India  incremation  is  as  natural  to  the  savage  as  it 
is  for  him  to  love  the  beauty  of  the  sun.  Let  the  vile  Esquimaux  and  the 
frozen  Siberian  bury  their  dead  if  they  will ;  it  matters  little,  the  earth  is  the 
same  above  as  below;  or  to  them  the  bosom  of  the  earth  may  seem  even  the 
better ;  but  in  California  do  not  blame  the  savage  if  he  recoils  at  the  thought 
of  going  under  ground  !  This  soft,  pale  halo  of  the  lilac  hills — ah,  let  him 
console  himself  if  he  will  with  the  belief  that  his  lost  friend  enjoys  it  still ! 
The  narrator  concluded  by  saying  that  they  destroyed  full  $500  worth  of 
property.  *  The  blankets,'  said  he  with  a  fine  Californian  scorn  of  such 
absurd  insensibility  to  a  good  bargain,  '  the  blankets  that  the  American 
offered  him  $16  for  were  not  worth  half  the  money.' 

"After  death  the  Se-ne"!  hold  that  bad  Indians  return  into  coyotes. 
Others  fall  off  a  bridge  which  all  souls  must  traverse,  or  are  hooked  off  by  a 
raging  bull  at  the  further  end,  while  the  good  escape  across.  Like  the 
Yokaia  and  the  Konkan,  they  believe  it  necessary  to  nourish  the  spirits  of 
the  departed  for  the  space  of  a  year.  This  is  generally  done  by  a  squaw, 
who  takes  pinole  in  her  blanket,  repairs  to  the  scene  of  the  incremation,  or 
to  places  hallowed  by  the  memory  of  the  dead,  where  she  scatters  it  over 
the  ground,  meantime  rocking  her  body  violently  to  and  fro  in  a  dance 
and  chanting  the  following  chorus : 

Hel-lel-li-ly, 

Hel-lel-lo, 

Hel-lel-lu. 


CREMATION— FLOEIDA.  57 

"  This  refrain  is  repeated  over  and  over  indefinitely,  but  the  words 
have  no  meaning  whatever." 

Mr.  Henry  Gillman*  has  published  an  interesting  account  of  the  explo- 
ration of  a  mound  near  Waldo,  Fla.,  in  which  he  found  abundant  evidence 
that  cremation  had  existed  among  the  former  Indian  population.  It  is  as 
follows : 

"  In  opening  a  burial-mound  at  Cade's  Pond,  a  small  body  of  water  sit- 
uated about  two  miles  northeastward  of  Santa  Y6  Lake,  Florida,  the  writer 
foundlwo  instances  of  cremation,  in  each  of  which  the  skull  of  the  subject, 
which  was  unconsumed,  was  used  as  the  depository  of  his  ashes.  The  mound 
contained  besides  a  large  number  of  human  burials,  the  bones  being  much 
decayed.  With  them  were  deposited  a  great  number  of  vessels  of  pottery, 
many  of  which  are  painted  in  brilliant  colors,  chiefly  red,  yellow,  and  brown, 
and  some  of  them  ornamented  with  indented  patterns,  displaying  not  a  little 
skill  in  the  ceramic  art,  though  they  are  reduced  to  fragments.  The  first  of 
the  skulls  referred  to  was  exhumed  at  a  depth  of  2  J  feet.  It  rested  on  its  apex 
(base  uppermost),  and  was  filled  with  fragments  of  half  incinerated  human 
bones,  mingled  with  dark-colored  dust,  and  the  sand  which  invariably  sifts 
into  crania  under  such  circumstances.  Immediately  beneath  the  skull  lay 
the  greater  part  of  a  human  tibia,  presenting  the  peculiar  compression 
known  as  a  platycnemism  to  the  degree  of  affording  a  latitudinal  index  of 
.512  ;  while  beneath  and  surrounding  it  lay  the  fragments  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  human  bones,  probably  constituting  an  entire  individual.  In  the 
second  instance  of  this  peculiar  mode  in  cremation,  the  cranium  was  dis- 
covered on  nearly  the  opposite  side  of  the  mound,  at  a  depth  of  2  feet,  and, 
like  the  former,  resting  on  its  apex.  It  was  filled  with  a  black  mass — the 
residuum  of  burnt  human  bones  mingled  with  sand.  At  three  feet  to  the 
eastward  lay  the  shaft  of  a  flattened  tibia,  which  presents  the  longitudinal 
index  of  .527.  Both  the  skulls  were  free  from  all  action  of  fire,  and  though 
subsequently  crumbling  to  pieces  on  their  removal,  the  writer  had  opportunity 
to  observe  their  strong  resemblance  to  the  small  orthocephalic  crania  which 
he  had  exhumed  from  mounds  in  Michigan.  The  same  resemblance  was 
perceptible  in  the  other  crania  belonging  to  this  mound.  The  small,  nar- 

*Araer.  Natural.,  November,  1878,  p.  753. 


58  CREMATION-FURNACE. 

row,  retreating  frontal,  prominent  parietal  protuberances,  rather  protuber- 
ant occipital,  which  was  not  in  the  least  compressed,  the  well-defined 
supraciliary  ridges,  and  the  superior  border  of  the  orbits,  presenting  a  quad- 
rilateral outline,  were  also  particularly  noticed.  The  lower  facial  bones, 
including  the  maxillaries,  were  wanting.  On  consulting  such  works  as  are 
accessible  to  him,  the  writer  finds  no  mention  of  any  similar  relics  having 
been  discovered  in  mounds  in  Florida  or  elsewhere.  For  further  particu- 
lars reference  may  be  had  to  a  paper  on  the  subject  read  before  the  Saint 
Louis  meeting  of  the  American  Association,  August,  1878." 

The  discoveries  made  by  Mr.  Gillman  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
people  whose  bones  he  excavated  resorted  to  a  process  of  partial  crema- 
tion, some  examples  of  which  will  be  given  on  another  page.  The  use  of 
crania  as  receptacles  is  certainly  remarkable,  if  not  unique. 

The  fact  is  well  known  to  archaeologists  that  whenever  cremation  was 
practiced  by  Indians  it  was  customary  as  a  rule  to  throw  into  the  blazing 
pyre  all  sorts  of  articles  supposed  to  be  useful  to  the  dead,  but  no  instance 
is  known  of  such  a  wholesale  destruction  of  property  as  occurred  when  the 
Indians  of  southern  Utah  burned  their  dead,  for  Dr.  E.  Foreman  relates,  in 
the  American  Naturalist  for  July,  1876,  the  account  of  the  exploration  of 
a  mound  in  that  Territory,  which  proved  that  at  the  death  of  a  person  not 
only  were  the  remains  destroyed  by  fire,  but  all  articles  of  personal  prop- 
erty, even  the  very  habitation  which  had  served  as  a  home.  After  the  pro- 
cess was  completed,  what  remained  unburned  was  covered  with  earth  and 
a  mound  formed. 

A.  S.  Tiffany*  describes  what  he  calls  a  cremation-furnace,  discovered 
within  seven  miles  of  Davenport,  Iowa : 

Mound  seven  miles  below  the  city,  a  projecting  point  known 
as  Eagle  Point.  The  surface  was  of  the  usual  black  soil  to  the  depth  of  from 
6  to  8  inches.  Next  was  found  a  burnt  indurated  clay,  resembling  in  color 
and  texture  a  medium-burned  brick,  and  about  30  inches  in  depth.  Immedi- 
ately beneath  this  clay  was  a  bed  of  charred  human  remains  6  to  18  inches 
thick.  This  rested  upon  the  unchanged  and  undisturbed  loess  of  the  bluffs, 
u!li'-''  formed  tin-  il.,  or  of  the  pit.  Imbedded  in  this  floor  of  unburned  clay 

*  Proc.  Dav.  Acad.  Hat.  Sci.,  18G7-70,  p.  64. 


PARTIAL  CEEMATIOK  59 

were  a  few  very  much  decomposed,  but  unburned,  human  bones.  No  imple- 
ments of  any  kind  were  discovered.  The  furnace  appears  to  have  been  con- 
structed by  excavating  the  pit  and  placing  at  the  bottom  of  it  the  bodies  or 
skeletons  which  had  possibly  been  collected  from  scaffolds,  and  placing  the 
fuel  among  and  above  the  bodies,  with  a  covering  of  poles  or  split  timbers 
extending  over  and  resting  upon  the  earth,  with  the  clay  covering  above, 
which  latter  we  now  find  resting  upon  the  charred  remains.  The  ends  of  the 
timber  covering,  where  they  were  protected  by  the  earth  above  and  below, 
were  reduced  to  charcoal,  parallel  pieces  of  which  were  found  at  right  angles 
to  the  length  of  the  mound.  No  charcoal  was  found  among  or  near  the 
remains,  the  combustion  there  having  been  complete.  The  porous  and  softer 
portions  of  the  bones  were  reduced  to  pulverized  bone-black.  Mr.  Stevens 
also  examined  the  furnace.  The  mound  had  probably  not  been  opened 
after  the  burning." 

This  account  is  doubtless  true,  but  the  inferences  mav  be  incorrect. 

ti 

Many  more  accounts  of  cremation  among  different  tribes  might  be 
given  to  show  how  prevalent  was  the  custom,  but  the  above  are  thought  to 
be  sufficiently  distinctive  to  serve  as  examples. 

PARTIAL  CEEMATIOK 

Allied  somewhat  to  cremation  is  a  peculiar  mode  of  burial  which  is 
supposed  to  have  taken  place  among  the  Cherokees  or  some  other  tribe  of 
North  Carolina,  and  which  is  thus  described  by  J.  W.  Foster:* 

"  Up  to  1819  the  Cherokees  held  possession  of  this  region,  when,  in 
pursuance  of  a  treaty,  they  vacated  a  portion  of  the  lands  lying  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Little  Tennessee  River.  In  1821  Mr.  McDowell  commenced 
farming.  During  the  first  season's  operations  the  plowshare,  in  passing 
over  a  certain  portion  of  a  field,  produced  a  hollow  rumbling  sound,  and  in 
exploring  for  the  cause  the  first  object  met  with  was  a  shallow  layer  of  char- 
coal, beneath  which  was  a  slab  of  burnt  clay  about  7  feet  in  length  and  4 
feet  broad,  which,  in  the  attempt  to  remove,  broke  into  several  fragments. 
Nothing  beneath  this  slab  was  found,  but  on  examining  its  under  side,  to 
his  great  surprise  there  was  the  mould  of  a  naked  human  figure.  Three  of 

*Pre-historic  Eaces,  1873,  p.  149. 


CO  PAETIAL  CREMATION. 

these  burned-clay  sepulchers  were  thus  raised  and  examined  during  the  first 
year  of  his  occupancy,  since  which  time  none  have  been  found  until 
recently.  *  *  *  During  the  past  season  (1872)  the  plow  brought  up 
another  fragment  of  one  of  these  moulds,  revealing  the  impress  of  a  plump 
human  arm. 

"  Col.  C.  W.  Jenkes,  the  superintendent  of  the  Corundum  mines,  which 
have  recently  been  opened  in  that  vicinity,  advises  me  thus : 

"'We  have  Indians  all  about  us,  with  traditions  extending  back  for  500 
years.  In  this  time  they  have  buried  their  dead  under  huge  piles  of  stones. 
We  have  at  one  point  the  remains  of  600  warriors  under  one  pile,  but  a 
grave  has  just  been  opened  of  the  following  construction:  A  pit  was  dug, 
into  which  the  corpse  was  placed,  face  upward ;  then  over  it  was  moulded  a 
covering  of  mortar,  fitting  the  form  and  features.  On  this  was  built  a  hot 
fire,  which  formed  an  entire  shield  of  pottery  for  the  corpse.  The  breaking 
up  of  one  such  tomb  gives  a  perfect  cast  of  the  form  of  the  occupant.' 

"Colonel  Jenkes,  fully  impressed  with  the  value  of  these  archaeological 
discoveries,  detailed  a  man  to  superintend  the  exhumation,  who  proceeded 
to  remove  the  earth  from  the  mould,  which  he  reached  through  a  layer  of 
charcoal,  and  then  with  a  trowel  excavated  beneath  it.  The  clay  was  not 
thoroughly  baked,  and  no  impression  of  the  corpse  was  left,  except  of  the 
forehead  and  that  portion  of  the  limbs  between  the  ankles  and  the  knees, 
and  even  these  portions  of  the  mould  crumbled.  The  body  had  been  placed 
east  and  west,  the  head  toward  the  east  'I  had  hoped,'  continues  Mr. 
McDowell,  'that  the  cast  in  the  clay  would  be  as  perfect  as  one  I  found  51 
years  ago,  a  fragment  of  which  I  presented  to  Colonel  Jenkes,  with  the  im- 
pression of  a  part  of  the  arm  on  one  side  and  on  the  other  of  the  fingers, 
that  had  pressed  down  the  soft  clay  upon  the  body  interred  beneath.'  The 
mound-builders  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  as  has  been  shown,  often  placed  a  layer 
of  clay  over  the  dead,  but  not  in  immediate  contact,  upon  which  they 
builded  fires ;  arid  the  evidence  that  cremation  was  often  resorted  to  in  their 
disposition  are  too  abundant  to  be  gainsaid." 

This  statement  is  corroborated  by  Mr.  Wilcox:* 

"  Mr.  Wilcox  also  stated  that  when  recently  in  North  Carolina  his  atten- 

"Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  PLila.,Nov.  1674,  p.  168. 


BUEIAL  AND  CREMATION— CALIFORNIA.  61 

tion  was  called  to  an  unusual  method  of  burial  by  an  ancient  race  of  Indians 
in  that  vicinity.  In  numerous  instances  burial  places  were  discovered 
where  the  bodies  had  been  placed  with  the  face  up  and  covered  with  a  coat- 
ing of  plastic  clay  about  an  inch  thick.  A  pile  of  wood  was  then  placed 
on  top  and  fired,  which  consumed  the  body  and  baked  the  clay,  which 
retained  the  impression  of  the  body.  This  was  then  lightly  covered  with 
earth." 

It  is  thought  no  doubt  can  attach  to  the  statements  given,  but  the  cases 
are  remarkable  as  being  the  only  instances  of  the  kind  met  with  in  the 
extensive  range  of  reading  preparatory  to  a  study  of  the  subject  of  burial, 
although  it  must  be  observed  that  Bruhier  states  that  the  ancient  Ethiopians 
covered  the  corpses  of  their  dead  with  plaster  (probably  mud),  but  they 
did  not  burn  these  curious  coffins. 

Another  method,  embracing  both  burial  and  cremation,  has  been  prac- 
ticed by  the  Pitt  River  or  Achomawi  Indians  of  California,  who  "bury  the 
body  in  the  ground  in  a  standing  position,  the  shoulders  nearly  even  with 
the  ground.  The  grave  is  prepared  by  digging  a  hole  of  sufficient  depth 
and  circumference  to  admit  the  body,  the  head  being  cut  off.  In  the  grave 
are  placed  the  bows  and  arrows,  bead- work,  trappings,  &c.,  belonging  to 
the  deceased ;  quantities  of  food,  consisting  of  dried  fish,  roots,  herbs,  &c., 
were  placed  with  the  body  also.  The  grave  was  then  filled  up,  covering 
the  headless  body ;  then  a  bundle  of  fagots  was  brought  and  placed  on 
the  grave  by  the  different  members  of  the  tribe,  and  on  these  fagots  the 
head  was  placed,  the  pile  fired,  and  the  head  consumed  to  ashes ;  after  this 
was  done,  the  female  relatives  of  the  deceased,  who  had  appeared  as  mourn- 
ers with  their  faces  blackened  with  a  preparation  resembling  tar  or  paint, 
dipped  their  fingers  in  the  ashes  of  the  cremated  head  and  made  three  marks 
on  their  right  check.  This  constituted  the  mourning  garb,  the  period  of 
which  lasted  until  this  black  substance  wore  off  from  the  face.  In  addition 
to  this  mourning,  the  blood  female  relatives  of  the  deceased  (who,  by  the 
way,  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  distinction)  had  their  hair  cropped  short  I 
noticed  while  the  head  was  burning  that  the  old  women  of  the  tribe  sat  on 
the  ground,  forming  a  large  circle,  inside  of  which  another  circle  of  young 
girls  were  formed  standing  and  swaying  their  bodies  to  and  fro  and  singing 


62  BURIAL  AND  CREMATION— NEW  JERSEY. 

a  mournful  ditty.  This  was  the  only  burial  of  a  male  that  I  witnessed. 
The  custom  of  burying  females  is  very  different,  their  bodies  being  wrapped 
or  bundled  up  in  skins  and  laid  away  in  caves,  with  their  valuables,  and  in 
some  cases  food  being  placed  with  them  in  their  mouths.  Occasionally 
money  is  left  to  pay  for  food  in  the  spirit  land." 

This  account  is  furnished  by  General  Charles  H.  Tompkins,  deputy 
quartermaster-general,  United  States  Army,  who  witnessed  the  burial 
above  related,  and  is  the  more  interesting  as  it  seems  to  be  the  only  well- 
authenticated  case  on  record,  although  E.  A.  Barber*  has  described  what 
may  possibly  have  been  a  case  of  cremation  like  the  one  above  noted : 

"A  very  singular  case  of  aboriginal  burial  was  brought  to  my  notice 
recently  by  Mr.  William  Klingbeil,  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  New  Jersey 
bank  of  the  Delaware  Eiver,  a  short  distance  below  Gloucester  City,  the 
skeleton  of  a  man  was  found  buried  in  a  standing  position,  in  a  high,  red, 
sandy-clay  bluff  overlooking  the  stream.  A  few  inches  below  the  surface 
the  neck  bones  were  found,  and  below  these  the  remainder  of  the  skeleton, 
with  the  exception  of  the  bones  of  the  hands  and  feet.  The  skull  being 
wanting,  it  could  not  be  determined  whether  the  remains  were  those  of  an 
Indian  or  of  a  white  man,  but  in  either  case  the  sepulture  was  peculiarly 
aboriginal  A  careful  exhumation  and  critical  examination  by  Mr.  Klingbeil 
disclosed  the  fact  that  around  the  lower  extremities  of  the  body  had  been 
placed  a  number  of  large  stones,  which  revealed  traces  of  fire,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  charred  wood,  and  the  bones  of  the  feet  had  undoubtedly  been 
consumed.  This  fact  makes  it  appear  reasonably  certain  that  the  subject 
had  been  executed,  probably  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  A  pit  had  been  dug, 
in  which  he  was  placed  erect,  and  a  fire  kindled  around  him.  Then  he  had 
been  buried  alive,  or,  at  least,  if  he  did  not  survive  the  fiery  ordeal,  his 
body  was  imbedded  in  the  earth,  with  the  exception  of  his  head,  which  was 
left  protruding  above  the  surface.  As  no  trace  of  the  cranium  could  be 
found,  it  seems  probable  that  the  head  had  either  been  burned  or  severed 
from  the  body  and  removed,  or  else  left  a  prey  to  ravenous  birds.  The 
skeleton,  which  would  have  measured  fully  six  feet  in  height,  was  undoubt- 
edly that  of  a  man." 

"American  Natural.,  Sept.,  1878,  p.  629. 


BURIAL  ABOVE  GROUND— SIOUX.  G3 

Blacking  the  face,  as  is  mentioned  in  the  first  account,  is  a  custom 
known  to  have  existed  among  many  tribes  throughout  the  world,  but  in 
some  cases  different  earths  and  pigments  are  used  as  signs  of  mourning. 
The  natives  of  Guinea  smear  a  chalky  substance  over  their  bodies  as  an 
outward  expression  of  grief,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  ancient  Israelites 
threw  ashes  on  their  heads  and  garments.  Placing  food  with  the  corpse  or 
in  its  mouth,  and  money  in  the  hand,  finds  its  analogue  in  the  custom  of  the 
ancient  Romans,  who,  some  time  before  interment,  placed  a  piece  of  money 
in  the  corpse's  mouth,  which  was  thought  to  be  Charon's  fare  for  wafting 
the  departed  soul  over  the  Infernal  River.  Besides  this,  the  corpse's  mouth 
was  furnished  with  a  certain  cake,  composed  of  flour,  honey,  &c.  This  was 
designed  to  appease  the  fury  of  Cerberus,  the  infernal  doorkeeper,  and  to 
procure  a  safe  and  quiet  entrance.  These  examples  are  curious  coincidences, 

if  nothing  more. 

BUEIAL  ABOVE  GROUND. 

Our  attention  should  next  be  turned  to  sepulture  above  the  ground, 
including  lodge,  house,  box,  scaffold,  tree,  and  canoe  burial,  and  the  first 
example  which  may  be  given  is  that  of  burial  in  lodges,  which  is  by  no 
means  common.  The  description  which  follows  is  by  Stansbury,*  and 
relates  to  the  Sioux : 

"  I  put  on  my  moccasins,  and,  displaying  my  wet  shirt  like  a  flag  to 
the  wind,  we  proceeded  to  the  lodges  which  had  attracted  our  curiosity. 
There  were  five  of  them  pitched  upon  the  open  prairie,  and  in  them  we 
found  the  bodies  of  nine  Sioux  laid  out  upon  the  ground,  wrapped  in  their 
robes  of  buffalo-skin,  with  their  saddles,  spears,  camp-kettles,  and  all  their 
accoutrements  piled  up  around  them.  Some  lodges  contained  three,  others 
only  one  body,  all  of  which  were  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  decomposition. 
A  short  distance  apart  from  these  was  one  lodge  which,  though  small, 
seemed  of  rather  superior  pretensions,  and  was  evidently  pitched  with  great 
care.  It  contained  the  body  of  a  young  Indian  girl  of  sixteen  or  eighteen 
years,  with  a  countenance  presenting  quite  an  agreeable  expression;  she 
was  richly  dressed  in  leggins  of  fine  scarlet  cloth  elaborately  ornamented ; 
a  new  pair  of  moccasins,  beautifully  embroidered  with  porcupine  quills,  was 

'Explorations  of  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah,  1852,  p.  43. 


(54  LODGE  BURIAL -CROWS. 

on  her  feet,  and  her  body  was  wrapped  in  two  superb  buffalo-robes  worked 
in  like  manner ;  she  had  evidently  been  dead  but  a  day  or  two,  and  to  our 
surprise  a  portion  of  the  upper  part  of  her  person  was  bare,  exposing  the 
face  and  a  part  of  the  breast,  as  if  the  robes  in  which  she  was  wrapped  had 
by  some  means  been  disarranged,  whereas  all  the  other  bodies  were  closely 
covered  up.  It  was,  at  the  time,  the  opinion  of  our  mountaineers  that  these 
Indians  must  have  fallen  in  an  encounter  with  a  party  of  Crows ;  but  I 
subsequently  learned  that  they  had  all  died  of  the  cholera,  and  that  this 
young  girl,  being  considered  past  recovery,  had  been  arranged  by  her 
friends  in  the  habiliments  of  the  dead,  inclosed  in  the  lodge  alive,  and  aban- 
doned to  her  fate,  so  fearfully  alarmed  were  the  Indians  by  this  to  them 
novel  and  terrible  disease. 

It  might,  perhaps,  be  said  that  this  form  of  burial  was  exceptional, 
and  due  to  the  dread  of  again  using  the  lodges  which  had  served  as  the 
homes  of  those  afflicted  with  the  cholera,  but  it  is  thought  such  was  not  the 
case,  as  the  writer  has  notes  of  the  same  kind  of  burial  among  the  same 
tribe  and  of  others,  notably  the  Crows,  the  body  of  one  of  their  chiefs 
(Long  Horse)  being  disposed  of  as  follows : 

"The  lodge  poles  inclose  an  oblong  circle  some  18  by  22  feet  at  the 
base,  converging  to  a  point  at  least  30  feet  high,  covered  with  buffalo-hides 
dressed  without  hair  except  a  part  of  the  tail  switch,  which  floats  outside 
like,  and  mingled  with  human  scalps.  The  different  skins  are  neatly  fitted 
and  sewed  together  with  sinew,  and  all  painted  in  seven  alternate  horizon- 
tal stripes  of  brown  and  yellow,  decorated  with  various  life-like  war  scenes. 
Over  the  small  entrance  is  a  large  bright  cross,  the  upright  being  a  large 
stuffed  white  wolf-skin  upon  his  war  lance,  and  the  cross-bar  of  bright  scar- 
let flannel,  containing  the  quiver  of  bow  and  arrows,  which  nearly  all  war- 
riors still  carry,  even  when  armed  with  repeating  rifles.  As  the  cross  is  not 
a  pagan  but  a  Christian  (which  Long  Horse  was  not  either  by  profession 
or  practice)  emblem,  it  was  probably  placed  there  by  the  influence  of  some 
of  his  white  friends.  I  entered,  finding  Long  Horse  buried  Indian  fashion, 
in  full  war  dress,  paint  and  feathers,  in  a  rude  coffin,  upon  a  platform  about 
breast  high,  decorated  with  weapons,  scalps,  and  ornaments.  A  large  open- 
ing and  wind-flap  a,t  top  favored  ventilation,  and  though  he  had  lain  there 
in  an  open  coffin  a  full  month,  some  of  which  was  hot  weather,  there  was 


BURIAL  IN  BOXES— CREEKS,  INDIAN  TERRITORY.  65 

but  little  effluvia  ;  in  fact,  I  have  seldom  found  much  in  a  burial-teepee,  and 
when  this  mode  of  burial  is  thus  performed  it  is  less  repulsive  than  natural 
to  suppose." 

This  account  is  furnished  by  Col.  P.  W.  Norris,  superintendent  of 
Yellowstone  National  Park,  he  having  been  an  eye-witness  of  what  he 
relates  in  1876. 

The  Blackfeet,  Sioux,  and  Navajos  also  bury  in  lodges,  and  the  In- 
dians of  Bellingham  Bay,  according  to  Dr.  J.  F.  Hammond,  U.  S.  A., 
place  their  dead  in  carved  wooden  sarcophagi,  inclosing  these  with  a  rectan- 
gular tent  of  some  white  material. 

Bancroft*  states  that  certain  of  the  Indians  of  Costa  Rica,  when  a  death 
occurred,  deposited  the  body  in  a  small  hut  constructed  of  plaited  palm 
reeds.  In  this  it  is  preserved  for  three  years,  food  being  supplied,  and  on 
each  anniversary  of  the  death  it  is  redressed  and  attended  to  amid  certain 
ceremonies.  The  writer  has  been  recently  informed  that  a  similar  custom 
prevailed  in  Demerara.  No  authentic  accounts  are  known  of  analogous 
modes  of  burial  among  the  peoples  of  the  Old  World,  although  quite  fre- 
quently the  dead  were  interred  beneath  the  floors  of  their  houses,  a  custom 
which  has  been  followed  by  the  Mosquito  Indians  of  Central  America  and 
one  or  two  of  our  own  tribes. 

BOX  BURIAL. 

Under  this  head  may  be  placed  those  examples  furnished  by  certain 
tribes  on  the  Northwest  coast  who  used  as  receptacles  for  the  dead  won- 
derfully carved,  large  wooden  chests,  these  being  supported  upon  a  low 
platform  or  resting  on  the  ground.  In  shape  they  resemble  a  small  house 
with  an  angular  roof,  and  each  one  has  an  opening  through  which  food 
may  be  passed  to  the  corpse. 

Some  of  the  tribes  formerly  living  in  New  York  used  boxes  much  re- 
sembling those  spoken  of,  and  the  Creeks,  Choctaws,  and  Cherokees  did 
the  same. 

Capt.  J.  H.  Gageby,  U.  S.  A.,  furnishes  the  following  relating  to  the 
Creeks  in  Indian  Territory : 

«*     *     *     are  buried  on  the  surface,  in  a  box  or  a  substitute  made  of 

*Nat.  Races  of  Pac.  States,  1874,  vol.  l,p.  780. 
5  Y 


66  TREE  AKD  SCAFFOLD  BURIAL. 

branches  of  trees,  covered  with  small  branches,  leaves,  and  earth.  I  have 
seen  several  of  their  graves,  which  after  a  few  weeks  had  become  uncovered 
and  the  remains  exposed  to  view.  I  saw  in  one  Creek  grave  (a  child's)  a 
small  sum  of  silver,  in  another  (adult  male)  some  implements  of  warfare, 
bow  and  arrows.  They  are  all  interred  with  the  feet  of  the  corpse  to  the 
east.  In  the  mourning  ceremonies  of  the  Creeks  the  nearer  relatives 
smeared  their  hair  and  faces  with  a  composition  made  of  grease  and 
wood  ashes,  and  would  remain  in  that  condition  for  several  days,  and 
probably  a  month." 

TREE  AND  SCAFFOLD  BURIAL. 

We  may  now  pass  to  what  may  be  called  aerial  sepulture  proper,  the 
most  common  examples  of  which  are  tree  and  scaffold  burial,  quite  exten- 
sively practiced  even  at  the  present  time.  From  what  can  be  learned,  the 
choice  of  this  mode  depends  greatly  on  the  facilities  present ;  where  timber 
abounds,  trees  being  used ;  if  absent,  scaffolds  being  employed,  the  con- 
struction of  which  among  the  Yanktonais  is  related  as  follows  :* 

"  These  scaffolds  are  7  to  8  feet  high,  1 0  feet  long,  and  4  or  5  wide. 
Four  stout  posts,  with  forked  ends,  are  first  set  firmly  in  the  ground,  and 
then  in  the  forks  are  laid  cross  and  side  poles,  on  which  is  made  a  flooring 
of  small  poles.  The  body  is  then  carefully  wrapped,  so  as  to  make  it  water- 
tight, and  laid  to  rest  on  the  poles.  The  reason  why  Indians  bury  in  the 
open  air  instead  of  under  the  ground  is  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  their 
dead  from  wild  animals.  In  new  countries,  where  wolves  and  bears  are  nu- 
merous, a  dead  body  will  be  dug  up  and  devoured,  though  it  be  put  many  feet 
under  the  ground.  I  noticed  many  little  buckets  and  baskets  hanging  on 
the  scaffolds.  *  *  *  These  had  contained  food  and  drink  for  the  dead. 
I  asked  Washtella  if  she  was  sure  the  soul  ate  and  drank  on  its  journey, 
and  if  the  food  did  not  remain  untouched  in  its  basket.  She  replied,  '  Oh, 
no,  the  food  and  water  is  always  gone.'  I  looked  at  the  hundreds  of  ravens 
perched  on  the  scaffolds  and  could  account  for  what  became  of  most  of 
the  food  and  water."  *  *  * 

*  Life  of  Belden,  the  White  Chief,  1871,  p.  87. 


TREE  BUBIAL— BLACKFEET.  67 

John  Young,  Indian  agent  at  the  Blackfeet  Agency,  Montana,  sends 
the  following  account  of  tree-burial  among  this  tribe  : 

"Their  manner  of  burial  has  always  been  (until  recently)  to  inclose 
the  dead  body  in  robes  or  blankets,  the  best  owned  by  the  departed,  closely 
sewed  up,  and  then,  if  a  male  or  chief,  fasten  in  the  branches  of  a  tree  so 
high  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  wolves,  and  then  left  to  slowly  waste  in 
the  dry  winds.  If  the  body  was  that  of  a  squaw  or  child,  it  was  thrown 
into  the  underbrush  or  jungle,  where  it  soon  became  the  prey  of  the  wild  ani- 
mals. The  weapons,  pipes,  &c.,  of  men  were  inclosed,  and  the  small  toys 
of  children  with  them.  The  ceremonies  were  equally  barbarous,  the  rela- 
tives cutting  off,  according  to  the  depth  of  their  grief,  one  or  more  joints  of 
the  fingers,  divesting  themselves  of  clothing  even  in  the  coldest  w^eather, 
and  filling  the  air  with  their  lamentations.  All  the  sewing  up  and  burial 
process  was  conducted  by  the  squaws,  as  the  men  would  not  touch  nor 
remain  in  proximity  to  a  dead  body. 

"  When  an  Indian  of  any  importance  is  departing,  the  squaws  assemble 
in  the  lodge  or  teepee  and  sing  the  death-song,  recounting  the  prowess  and 
virtues  of  the  dying  one,  and  the  oldest  man  at  hand  goes  into  the  open  air 
and  solemnly  addresses  the  '  Great  Spirit,'  bespeaking  a  welcome  for  him 
into  the  happy  hunting  grounds.  Whatever  property  the  deceased  has — 
lodge,  arms,  or  ponies — if  a  will  was  made,  it  was  carefully  carried  out ;  if 
not,  all  was  scrambled  for  by  the  relatives.  I  have  often  had,  when  a  man 
wanted  to  go  out  of  mourning,  to  supply  the  necessary  clothing  to  cover  his 
nakedness. 

"  Further  mourning  observances  were  and  are,  the  women  relatives 
getting  on  some  elevated  spot  near  where  the  body  rests,  and  keeping  up  a 
dismal  wail,  frequently  even  in  extreme  cold  weather,  the  greater  part  of  the 
night,  and  this  is  kept  up  often  for  a  month.  No  cremation  or  burying  in 
a  grave  was  practiced  by  them  at  any  time.  Pained  by  often  coming  on 
skeletons  in  trees  and  the  stench  of  half-consumed  remains  in  the  brush,  and 
shocked  by  the  frequent  mutilations  visible,  I  have  reasoned  with  the  poor 
savages.  In  one  case,  when  a  woman  was  about  to  cut  off  a  finger  in  evi- 
dence of  her  grief  for  the  loss  of  a  child,  she  consented  on  entrealy  to  cut 
off  only  one  joint,  and  on  further  entreaty  was  brought  to  merely  making 


(38  SCAFFOLD  BCTEIAL. 

a  cut  and  letting  out  some  blood.  This  much  she  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  to  forego.  *  *  *  Their  mourning  and  wailing,  avoiding  the  defile- 
ment of  touching  a  dead  body,  and  other  customs  not  connected  with  burial 
observances,  strongly  point  to  Jewish  origin." 

Keating*  thus  describes  burial  scaffolds : 

"On  these  scaffolds,  which  are  from  8  to  10  feet  high,  corpses  were 
deposited  in  a  box  made  from  part  of  a  broken  canoe.  Some  hair  was  sus- 
pended, which  we  at  first  mistook  for  a  scalp,  but  our  guide  informed  us 
that  these  were  locks  of  hair  torn  from  their  heads  by  the  relatives  to  testify 
their  grief.  In  the  centre,  between  the  four  posts  which  supported  the 
scaffold,  a  stake  was  planted  in  the  ground ;  it  was  about  six  feet  high,  and 
bore  an  imitation  of  human  figures,  five  of  which  had  a  design  of  a  petti- 
coat, indicating  them  to  be  females ;  the  rest,  amounting  to  seven,  were 
naked,  and  were  intended  for  male  figures ;  of  the  latter  four  were  head- 
less, showing  that  they  had  been  slain ;  the  three  other  male  figures  were 
unnmtilated,  but  held  a  staff  in  their  hand,  which,  as  our  guide  informed 
us,  designated  that  they  were  slaves.  The  post,  which  is  an  usual  accom- 
paniment to  the  scaffold  that  supports  a  warrior's  remains,  does  not  repre- 
sent the  achievements  of  the  deceased ;  but  those  of  the  warriors  that  assem- 
bled near  his  remains  danced  the  dance  of  the  post,  and  related  their  martial 
exploits.  A  number  of  small  bones  of  animals  were  observed  in  the  vicinity, 
which  were  probably  left  there  after  a  fenst  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  dead. 

"  The  boxes  in  which  the  corpses  were  placed  are  so  short  that  a  man 
could  not  lie  in  them  extended  at  full  length,  but  in  a  country  where  boxes 
and  boards  are  scarce  this  is  overlooked.  After  the  corpses  have  remained 
a  certain  time  exposed,  they  are  taken  down  and  buried.  Our  guide,  Ren- 
ville,  related  to  us  that  he  had  been  a  witness  to  an  interesting,  though  pain- 
ful, circumstance  that  occurred  here.  An  Indian  who  resided  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, hearing  that  his  son  had  died  at  this  spot,  came  up  in  a  canoe  to 
take  charge  of  the  remains  and  convey  them  down  the  river  to  his  place  of 
abode,  but  on  his  arrival  he  found  that  the  corpse  had  already  made  such 
progress  toward  decomposition  as  rendered  it  impossible  for  it  to  be  removed. 
He  then  undertook,  with  a  few  friends,  to  clean  off  the  bones.  All  the  flesh 

*  Long's  Exped.  to  the  St.  Peter's  River,  1824,  p.  31)2. 


SCAFFOLD  BUEIAL.  69 

was  scraped  off  and  thrown  into  the  stream,  the  bones  were  carefully  col- 
lected into  his  canoe,  and  subsequently  carried  down  to  his  residence  " 

Interesting  and  valuable  from  the  extreme  attention  paid  to  details 
is  the  following  account  of  a  burial  case  discovered  by  Dr.  George  M. 
Sternberg,  U.  S.  A.,  and  furnished  by  Dr.  George  A.  Otis,  U.  S.  A., 
Army  Medical  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C.  It  relates  to  the  Cheyennes  of 
Kansas : 

"The  case  was  found,  Brevet  Major  Sternberg  states,  on  the  banks  of 
Walnut  Creek,  Kansas,  elevated  about  eight  feet  from  the  ground  by  four 
notched  poles,  which  were  firmly  planted  in  the  ground.  The  unusual  care 
manifested  in  the  preparation  of  the  case  induced  Dr.  Sternberg  to  infer  that 
some  important  chief  was  inclosed  in  it.  Believing  that  articles  of  interest 
were  inclosed  with  the  body,  and  that  their  value  would  be  enhanced  if 
they  were  received  at  the  Museum  as  left  by  the  Indians,  Dr.  Sternberg 
determined  to  send  the  case  unopened. 

"  I  had  the  case  opened  this  morning  and  an  inventory  made  of  the 
contents.  The  case  consisted  of  a  cradle  of  interlaced  branches  of  white 
willow,  about  6  feet  long,  3  feet  broad,  and  3  feet  high,  with  a  flooring  of 
buffalo  thongs  arranged  as  a  net-work.  This  cradle  was  securely  fastened 
by  strips  of  buffalo-hide  to  four  poles  of  ironwood  and  cottonwood,  about 
12  feet  in  length.  These  poles  doubtless  rested  upon  the  forked  extremities 
of  the  vertical  poles  described  by  Dr.  Sternberg.  The  cradle  was  wrapped 
in  two  buffalo-robes  of  large  size  and  well  preserved.  On  removing  these 
an  aperture  18  inches  square  was  found  at  the  middle  of  the  right  side  of 
the  cradle  or  basket.  Within  appeared  other  buffalo-robes  folded  about  the 
remains,  and  secured  by  gaudy-colored  sashes.  Five  robes  were  succes- 
sively removed,  making  seven  in  all.  Then  we  came  to  a  series  of  new 
blankets  folded  about  the  remains.  There  were  five  in  all — two  scarlet,  two 
blue,  and  one  white.  These  being  removed,  the  next  wrappings  consisted 
of  a  striped  white  and  gray  sack,  and  of  a  United  States  Infantry  overcoat, 
like  the  other  coverings  nearly  new.  We  had  now  come  apparently  upon 
the  immediate  envelopes  of  the  remains,  which  it  was  now  evident  must  be 
those  of  a  child.  These  consisted  of  three  robes,  with  hoods  very  richly 
ornamented  with  bead-work.  These  robes  or  cloaks  were  of  buffalo-calf 


70  SCAFFOLD  BURIAL. 

skin  about  four  feet  in  length,  elaborately  decorated  with  bead-work  in 
stripes.  The  outer  was  covered  with  rows  of  blue  and  white  bead-work, 
the  second  was  green  and  yellow,  and  the  third  blue  and  red.  All  were 
further  adorned  by  spherical  brass  bells  attached  all  about  the  borders  by 
strings  of  beads. 

"  The  remains  with  their  wrappings  lay  upon  a  matting  similar  to  that 
used  by  the  Navajo  and  other  Indians  of  the  southern  plains,  and  upon  a 
pillow  of  dirty  rags,  in  which  were  folded  a  bag  of  red  paint,  bits  of  ante- 
lope skin,  bunches  of  straps,  buckles,  &c.  The  three  bead-work  hooded 
cloaks  were  now  removed,  and  then  we  successively  unwrapped  a  gray 
woolen  double  shawl,  five  yards  of  blue  cassimere,  six  yards  of  red  calico, 
and  six  yards  of  brown  calico,  and  finally  disclosed  the  remains  of  a  child, 
probably  about  a  year  old,  in  an  advanced  stage  of  decomposition.  The 
cadaver  had  a  beaver-cap  ornamented  with  disks  of  copper  containing  the 
bones  of  the  cranium,  which  had  fallen  apart.  About  the  neck  were  long 
wampum  necklaces,  with  dentalium,  unionidce,  and  auricula,  interspersed  with 
beads.  There  were  ako  strings  of  the  pieces  of  Haliotis  from  the  Gulf  of 
California,  so  valued  by  the  Indians  on  this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  body  had  been  elaborately  dressed  for  burial,  the  costume  consisting  of 
a  red-flannel  cloak,  a  red  tunic,  and  frock-leggins  adorned  with  bead-work, 
yarn  stockings  of  red  and  black  worsted,  and  deerskin  bead-work  mocca- 
sins. With  the  remains  were  numerous  trinkets,  a  porcelain  image,  a  China 
vase,  strings  of  beads,  several  toys,  a  pair  of  mittens,  a  fur  collar,  a  pouch 
of  the  skin  of  putorius  vison,  &c." 

Another  extremely  interesting  account  of  scaffold  burial,  furnished  by 
Dr.  L.  S.  Turner,  U.  S.  A.,  Fort  Peck,  Mont,  and  relating  to  the  Sioux,  is 
here  given  entire,  as  it  refers  to  certain  curious  mourning  observances 
which  have  prevailed  to  a  great  extent  over  the  entire  globe : 

'  The  Dakotas  bury  their  dead  in  the  tops  of  trees  when  limbs  can 
be  found  sufficiently  horizontal  to  support  scaffolding  on  which  to  lay  the 
body,  but  as  such  growth  is  not  common  in  Dakota,  the  more  general  prac- 
tice is  to  lay  them  upon  scaffolds  from  7  to  10  feet  high  and  out  of  the  reach  of 
carnivorous  animals,  as  the  wolf.  These  scaffolds  are  constructed  upon  four 
posts  set  into  the  ground  something  after  the  manner  of  the  rude  drawing 


SCAFFOLD  BUEIAL.  71 

which  I  inclose.  Like  all  labors  of  a  domestic  kind,  the  preparation  for 
burial  is  left  to  the  women,  usually  the  old  women.  The  work  begins  as 
soon  as  life  is  extinct.  The  face,  neck,  and  hands  are  thickly  painted  with 
vermilion,  or  a  species  of  red  earth  found  in  various  portions  of  the  Terri- 
tory when  the  vermilion  of  the  traders  cannot  be  had.  The  clothes  and 
personal  trinkets  of  the  deceased  ornament  the  body.  When  blankets 
are  available,  it  is  then  wrapped  in  one,  all  parts  of  the  body  being-  com- 
pletely enveloped.  Around  this  a  dressed  skin  of  buffalo  is  then  securely 
wrapped,  with  the  flesh  side  out,  and  the  whole  securely  bound  with  thongs 
of  skins,  either  raw  or  dressed;  and  for  ornament,  when  available,  a  bright- 
red  blanket  envelopes  all  other  coverings,  and  renders  the  general  scene 
more  picturesque  until  dimmed  by  time  and  the  elements.  As  soon  as  the 
scaffold  is  ready,  the  body  is  borne  by  the  women,  followed  by  the  female 
relatives,  to  the  place  of  final  deposit,  and  left  prone  in  its  secure  wrap- 
pings upon  this  airy  bed  of  death.  This  ceremony  is  accompanied  with 
lamentations  so  wild  and  weird  that  one  must  see  and  hear  in  order  to  appre- 
ciate. If  the  deceased  be  a  brave,  it  is  customary  to  place  upon  or  beneath 
the  scaffold  a  few  buffalo-heads  which  time  has  rendered  dry  and  inoffensive; 
and  if  he  has  been  brave  in  war  some  of  his  implements  of  battle  are  placed 
on  the  scaffold  or  securely  tied  to  its  timbers.  If  the  deceased  has  been  a 
chief,  or  a  soldier  related  to  his  chief,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  slay  his  favorite 
pony  and  place  the  body  beneath  the  scaffold,  under  the  superstition,  I  sup- 
pose, that  the  horse  goes  with  the  man.  As  illustrating  the  propensity  to 
provide  the  dead  with  the  things  used  while  living,  I  may  mention  that  some 
years  ago  I  loaned  to  an  old  man  a  delft  urinal  for  the  use  of  his  son,  a 
young  man  who  was  slowly  dying  of  a  wasting  disease.  I  made  him  prom- 
ise faithfully  that  he  would  return  it  as  soon  as  his  son  was  done  using  it 
Not  long  afterwards  the  urinal  graced  the  scaffold  which  held  the  remains 
of  the  dead  warrior,  and  as  it  has  not  to  this  day  been  returned  I  presume 
the  young  man  is  not  done  using  it. 

"  The  mourning  customs  of  the  Dakotas,  though  few  of  them  appear 
to  be  of  universal  observance,  cover  considerable  ground.  The  hair,  never 
cut  under  other  circumstances,  is  cropped  off  even  with  the  neck,  and  the 
top  of  the  head  and  forehead,  and  sometimes  nearly  the  whole  body,  are 


72  MOUENING  OBSERVANCES. 

smeared  with  a  species  of  white  earth  resembling,  chalk,  moistened  with 
water.  The  lodge,  teepee,  and  all  the  family  possessions  except  the  few 
shabby  articles  of  apparel  worn  by  the  mourners,  are  given  away  and  the 
family  left  destitute.  Thus  far  the  custom  is  universal  or  nearly  so.  The 
wives,  mother,  and  sisters  of  a  deceased  man,  on  the  first,  second,  or  third 
day  after  the  funeral,  frequently  throw  off  their  moccasins  and  leggins  and 
gash  their  legs  with  their  butcher-knives,  and  march  through  the  camp  and 
to  the  place  of  burial  with  bare  and  bleeding  extremities,  while  they  chant 
or  wail  their  dismal  songs  of  mourning.  The  men  likewise  often  gash 
themselves  in  many  places,  and  usually  seek  the  solitude  of  the  higher 
point  on  the  distant  prairie,  where  they  remain  fasting,  smoking,  and  wail- 
ing out  their  lamentations  for  two  or  three  days.  A  chief  who  had  lost  a 
brother  once  came  to  me  after  three  or  four  days  of  mourning  in  solitude 
almost  exhausted  from  hunger  and  bodily  anguish.  He  had  gashed  the 
outer  side  of  both  lower  extremities  at  intervals  of  a  few  inches  all  the  way 
from  the  ankles  to  the  top  of  the  hips.  His  wounds  had  inflamed  from 
exposure,  and  were  suppurating  freely.  He  assured  me  that  he  had  not 
slept  for  several  days  or  nights.  I  dressed  his  wounds  with  a  soothing 
ointment,  and  gave  him  a  full  dose  of  an  effective  anodyne,  after  which  he 
slept  long  and  refreshingly,  and  awoke  to  express  his  gratitude  and  shake 
my  hand  in  a  very  cordial  and  sincere  manner.  When  these  harsher  inflic- 
tions are  not  resorted  to,  the  mourners  usually  repair  daily  for  a  few  days 
to  the  place  of  burial,  toward  the  hour  of  sunset,  and  chant  their  grief  until 
apparently  assuaged  by  its  own  expression.  This  is  rarely  kept  up  for 
more  than  four  or  five  days,  but  is  occasionally  resorted  to,  at  intervals, 
for  weeks,  or  even  months,  according  to  the  mood  of  the  bereft.  I  have 
seen  few  things  in  life  so  touching  as  the  spectacle  of  an  old  father  going 
daily  to  the  grave  of  his  child,  while  the  shadows  are  lengthening,  and 
pouring  out  his  grief  in  wails  that  would  move  a  demon,  until  his  figure 
melts  with  the  gray  twilight,  when,  silent  and  solemn,  he  returns  to  his 
desolate  family.  The  weird  effect  of  this  observance  is  sometimes  height- 
ened, when  the  deceased  was  a  grown-up  son,  by  the  old  man  kindling  a 
little  fire  near  the  head  of  the  scaffold,  and  varying  his  lamentations  with 
smoking  in  silence.  The  foregoing  is  drawn  from  my  memory  of  personal 


MOUKNING  OBSEBVANCES.  73 

observances  during-  a  period  of  more  than  six  years'  constant  intercourse 
with  several  subdivisions  of  the  Dakota  Indians.  There  may  be  much 
which  memory  has  failed  to  recall  upon  a  brief  consideration." 

Perhaps  &  brief  review  of  Dr.  Turner's  narrative  may  not  be  deemed 
inappropriate  here. 

Supplying  food  to  the  dead  is  a  custom  which  is  known  to  be  of  great 
antiquity;  in  some  instances,  as  among  the  ancient  Romans,  it  appears 
to  have  been  a  sacrificial  offering,  for  it  usually  accompanied  cremation, 
and  was  not  confined  to  food  alone,  for  spices,  perfumes,  oil,  &c.,  were 
thrown  upon  the  burning  pile.  In  addition  to  this,  articles  supposed  or 
known  to  have  been  agreeable  to  the  deceased  were  also  consumed.  The 
Jews  did  the  same,  and  in  our  own  time  the  Chinese,  Caribs  and  many  of 
the  tribes  of  North  American  Indians  followed  these  customs.  The  cut- 
ting of  hair  as  a  mourning  observance  is  of  very  great  antiquity,  and  Tegg 
relates  that  among  the  ancients  whole  cities  and  countries  were  shaved  (sic) 
when  a  great  man  died.  The  Persians  not  only  shaved  themselves  on  such 
occasions,  but  extended  the  same  process  to  their  domestic  animals,  and 
Alexander,  at  the  death  of  Hephsestin,  not  only  cut  off  the  manes  of  his 
horses  and  mules,  but  took  down  the  battlements  from  the  city  walls,  that 
even  towns  might  seem  in  mourning  and  look  bald.  Scarifying  and  muti- 
lating the  body  has  prevailed  from  a  remote  period  of  time,  having  possibly 
replaced,  in  the  process  of  evolution,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  more  barbarous 
practice  of  absolute  personal  sacrifice.  In  later  days,  among  our  Indians, 
human  sacrifices  have  taken  place  to  only  a  limited  extent,  but  formerly 
many  victims  were  immolated,  for  at  the  funerals  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Florida 
and  Carolina  Indians  all  the  male  relatives  and  wives  were  slain,  for  the 
reason,  according  to  Gallatin,  that  the  hereditary  dignity  of  Chief  or  Great 
Sun  descended,  as  usual,  by  the  female  line;  and  he,  as  well  as  all  other 
members  of  his  clan,  whether  male  or  female,  could  marry  only  persons  of 
an  inferior  clan.  To  this  day  mutilation  of  the  person  among  some  tribes 
of  Indians  is  usual.  The  sacrifice  of  the  favorite  horse  or  horses  is  by  no 
means  peculiar  to  our  Indians,  for  it  was  common  among  the  Romans,  and 
possibly  even  among  the  men  of  the  Reindeer  period,  for  at  Solutr^,  in 
France,  the  writer  saw  horses'  bones  exhumed  from  the  graves  examined  in 


74  CONCLAMATIOK 

1873.  The  writer  has  frequently  conversed  with  Indians  upon  this  subject, 
and  they  have  invariably  informed  him  that  when  horses  were  slain  great 
care  was  taken  to  select  the  poorest  of  the  band. 

Tree-burial  was  not  uncommon  among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  for 
the  Colchiens  enveloped  their  dead  in  sacks  of  skin  and  hung  them  to  trees; 
the  ancient  Tartars  and  Scythians  did  the  same.  With  regard  to  the  use  of 
scaffolds  and  trees  as  places  of  deposit  for  the  dead,  it  seems  somewhat 
curious  that  the  tribes  who  formerly  occupied  the  eastern  portion  of  our 
continent  were  not  in  the  habit  of  burying  in  this  way,  which,  from  the 
abundance  of  timber,  would  have  been  a  much  easier  method  than  the  ones 
in  vogue,  while  the  western  tribes,  living  in  sparsely  wrooded  localities,  pre- 
ferred the  other.  If  we  consider  that  the  Indians  were  desirous  of  pre- 
serving their  dead  as  long  as  possible,  the  fact  of  their  dead  being  placed 
in  trees  and  scaffolds  would  lead  to  the  supposition  that  those  living  on  the 
plains  were  well  aware  of  the  desiccating  property  of  the  dry  air  of  that 
arid  region.  This  desiccation  would  pass  for  a  kind  of  mummification. 

The  particular  part  of  the  mourning  ceremonies,  which  consisted  in 
loud  cries  and  lamentations,  may  have  had  in  early  periods  of  time  a  greater 
significance  than  that  of  a  mere  expression  of  grief  or  woe,  and  on  this  point 
Bruhier*  seems  quite  positive,  his  interpretation  being  that  such  cries  were 
intended  to  prevent  premature  burial.  He  gives  some  interesting  examples, 
which  may  be  admitted  here : 

"  The  Caribs  lament  loudly,  their  wailings  being  interspersed  with  com- 
ical remarks  and  questions  to  the  dead  as  to  why  he  preferred  to  leave  this 
world,  having  everything  to  make  life  comfortable.  They  place  the  corpse 
on  a  little  seat  in  a  ditch  or  grave  four  or  five  feet  deep,  and  for  ten  days 
they  bring  food,  requesting  the  corpse  to  eat.  Finally,  being  convinced 
that  the  dead  will  neither  eat  nor  return  to  life,  they  throw  the  food  on  the 
head  of  the  corpse  and  fill  up  the  grave." 

When  one  died  among  the  Romans,  the  nearest  parents  embraced  the 
body,  closed  the  eyes  and  mouth,  and  when  one  was  about  to  die  received 
the  last  words  and  sighs,  and  then  loudly  called  the  name  of  the  dead,  finally 
bidding  an  eternal  adieu.  This  ceremony  of  calling  the  deceased  by  name 
was  known  as  the  condamation,  and  was  a  custom  anterior  even  to  the 

*  "  L'inccrtitudc  des  signes  de  la  Mort,"  1742, 1,  p.  475  et  seq. 


THEORY  OF  SCAFFOLD  BURIAL.  75 

foundation  of  Rome.  One  dying  away  from  home  was  immediately 
removed  thither,  in  order  that  this  might  be  performed  with  greater  pro- 
priety. In  Picardy,  as  late  as  1 743,  the  relatives  threw  themselves  on  the 
corpse  and  with  loud  cries  called  it  by  name,  and  up  to  1855  the  Mo- 
ravians of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  death  of  one  of  their  number,  performed 
mournful  musical  airs  on  brass  instruments  from  the  village  church  steeple 
and  again  at  the  grave.*  This  custom,  however,  was  probably  a  remnant  of 
the  ancient  funeral  observances,  and  not  to  prevent  premature  burial,  or, 
perhaps,  to  scare  away  bad  spirits. 

W.  L.  Hardistyf  gives  a  curious  example  of  log-burial  in  trees,  relat- 
ing to  the  Loucheux  of  British  America : 

"They  inclose  the  body  in  a  neatly-hollowed  piece  of  wood,  and 
secure  it  to  two  or  more  trees,  about  six  feet  from  the  ground.  A  log  about 
eight  feet  long  is  first  split  in  two,  and  each  of  the  parts  carefully  hollowed 
out  to  the  required  size.  The  body  is  then  inclosed  and  the  two  pieces 
well  lashed  together,  preparatory  to  being  finally  secured,  as  before  stated, 
to  the  trees." 

With  regard  to  the  use  of  scaffolds  as  places  of  deposit  for  the  dead, 
the  following  theories  by  Dr.  W.  Gardner,  U.  S.  A.,  are  given : 

"If  we  come  to  inquire  why  the  American  aborigines  placed  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  relatives  and  friends  in  trees,  or  upon  scaffolds  resembling 
trees,  instead  of  burying  them  in  the  ground,  or  burning  them  and  preserv- 
ing their  ashes  in  urns,  I  think  we  can  answer  the  inquiry  by  recollecting 
that  most  if  not  all  the  tribes  of  American  Indians,  as  well  as  other  nations 
of  a  higher  civilization,  believed  that  the  human  soul,  spirit  or  immortal 
part,  was  of  the  form  and  nature  of  a  bird,  and  as  these  are  essentially 
arboreal  in  their  habits,  it  is  quite  in  keeping  to  suppose  that  the  soul-bird 
would  have  readier  access  to  its  former  home  or  dwelling-place  if  it  was 
placed  upon  a  tree  or  scaffold  than  if  it  was  buried  in  the  earth  ;  moreover, 
from  this  lofty  eyrie  the  souls  of  the  dead  could  rest  secure  from  the  attacks 
of  wolves  or  other  profane  beasts,  and  guard  like  sentinels  the  homes  and 
hunting-grounds  of  their  loved  ones." 

*  The  writer  is  informed  by  Mr.  Jolm  Henry  Boner  that  this  custom  still  prevails  not  only  iu 
Pennsylvania,  but  at  the  Moravian  settlement  of  Salem,  North  Carolina, 
t  Kep.  Smithsonian  lust.,  18GG,  p.  319. 


7(5  BONE  HOUSES. 

This  statement  is  given  because  of  a  corroborative  note  in  the  writer's 
possession,  but  he  is  not  prepared  to  admit  it  as  correct  without  further 
investigation. 

PAETIAL  SCAFFOLD  BUEIAL  AND  OSSUAEIES. 

Under  this  heading  may  be  placed  the  burials  which  consisted  in  first 
depositing  the  bodies  on  scaffolds,  where  they  were  allowed  to  remain  for  a 
variable  length  of  time,  after  which  the  bones  were  cleaned  and  deposited 
either  in  the  earth  or  in  special  structures  called  by  writers  "  bone-houses." 
Roman*  relates  the  following  concerning  the  Choctaws : 

"The  following  treatment  of  the  dead  is  very  strange.  *  *  *  As 
soon  as  the  deceased  is  departed,  a  stage  is  erected  (as  in  the  annexed  plate  is 
represented)  and  the  corpse  is  laid  on  it  and  covered  with  a  bear  skin ;  if  he  be 
a  man  of  note,  it  is  decorated,  and  the  poles  painted  red  with  vermillion  and 
bear's  oil ;  if  a  child,  it  is  put  upon  stakes  set  across  ;  at  this  stage  the  rela- 
tions come  and  weep,  asking  many  questions  of  the  corpse,  such  as,  why 
he  left  them  1  did  not  his  wife  serve  him  well  ?  was  he  not  contented  with 
his  children  ?  had  he  not  corn  enough  1  did  not  his  land  produce  sufficient 
of  everything  ?  was  he  afraid  of  his  enemies  ?  &c.  and  this  accompanied  by 
loud  howlings ;  the  women  will  be  there  constantly,  and  sometimes  with 
the  corrupted  air  and  heat  of  the  sun  faint  so  as  to  oblige  the  bystanders 
to  carry  them  home ;  the  men  will  also  come  and  mourn  in  the  same  man- 
ner, but  in  the  night  or  at  other  unseasonable  times,  when  they  are  least 
likely  to  be  discovered. 

"  The  stage  is  fenced  round  with  poles ;  it  remains  thus  a  certain  time 
but  not  a  fixed  space ;  this  is  sometimes  extended  to  three  or  four  months, 
but  seldom  more  than  half  that  time.  A  certain  set  of  venerable  old  Gen- 
tlemen who  wear  very  long  nails  as  a  distinguishing  badge  on  the  thumb, 
fore  and  middle  finger  of  each  hand,  constantly  travel  through  the  nation 
(when  i  was  there,  i  was  told  there  were  but  five  of  this  respectable  order)  that 
one  of  them  may  acquaint  those  concerned,  of  the  expiration  of  this  period, 
which  is  according  to  their  own  fancy ;  the  day  being  come,  the  friends 
and  relations  assemble  near  the  stage,  a  fire  is  made,  and  the  respectable 

*  Hist,  of  Florida,  1775,  p.  88. 


OSSTJAKIES— NATCHEZ.  77 

operator,  after  the  body  is  taken  down,  with  his  nails  tears  the  remaining 
flesh  off  the  bones,  and  throws  it  with  the  entrails  into  the  fire,  where  it  is 
consumed;  then  he  scrapes  the  bones  and  burns  the  scrapings  likewise; 
the  head  being  painted  red  with  vermillion  is  with  the  rest  of  the  bones  put 
into  a  neatly  made  chest  (which  for  a  Chief  is  also  made  red)  and  deposited 
in  the  loft  of  a  hut  built  for  that  purpose,  and  called  bone  house ;  each 
town  has  one  of  these ;  after  remaining  here  one  year  or  thereabouts,  if  he 
be  a  man  of  any  note,  they  take  the  chest  down,  and  in  an  assembly  of  rela- 
tions and  friends  they  weep  once  more  over  him,  refresh  the  colour  of  the 
head,  paint  the  box,  and  then  deposit  him  to  lasting  oblivion. 

"An  enemy  and  one  who  commits  suicide  is  buried  under  the  earth 
as  one  to  be  directly  forgotten  and  unworthy  the  above  ceremonial  obse- 
quies and  mourning." 

Jones*  quotes  one  of  the  older  writers,  as  follows,  regarding  the  Natchez 
tribe : 

"Among  the  Natchez  the  dead  were  either  inhumed  or  placed  in  tombs. 
These  tombs  were  located  within  or  very  near  their  temples.  They  rested 
upon  four  forked  sticks  fixed  fast  in  the  ground,  and  were  raised  some  three 
feet  above  the  earth.  About'eight  feet  long  and  a  foot  and  a  half  wide,  they 
were  prepared  for  the  reception  of  a  single  corpse.  After  the  body  was 
placed  upon  it,  a  basket-work  of  twigs  was  woven  around  and  covered  with 
mud,  an  opening  being  left  at  the  head,  through  which  food  was  presented 
to  the  deceased  When  the  flesh  had  all  rotted  away,  the  bones  were  taken 
out,  placed  in  a  box  made  of  canes,  and  then  deposited  in  the  temple.  The 
common  dead  were  mourned  and  lamented  for  a  period  of  three  days. 
Those  who  fell  in  battle  were  honored  with  a  more  protracted  and  grievous 
lamentation." 

Bartramf  gives  a  somewhat  different  account  from  Eoman  of  burial 
among  the  Choctaws  of  Carolina: 

"The  Chactaws  pay  their  last  duties  and  respect  to  the  deceased  in 
a  very  different  manner.  As  soon  as  a  person  is  dead,  they  erect  a  scaf- 
fold 18  or  20  feet  high  in  a  grove  adjacent  to  the  town,  where  they  lay 

*  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  1873,  p.  105. 
tBartram's  Travels,  1791,  p.  516. 


78  OSSUARIES— IEOQUOIS. 

the  corps,  lightly  covered  with  a  mantle;  here  it  is  suffered  to  remain, 
visited  and  protected  by  the  friends  and  relations,  until  the  flesh  becomes 
putrid,  so  as  easily  to  part  from  the  bones ;  then  undertakers,  who  make  it 
their  business,  carefully  strip  the  flesh  from  the  bones,  wash  and  cleanse 
them,  and  when  dry  and  purified  by  the  air,  having  provided  a  curiously- 
wrought  chest  or  coffin,  fabricated  of  bones  and  splints,  they  place  all.  the 
bones  therein,  which  is  deposited  in  the  bone-house,  a  building  erected  for 
that  purpose  in  every  town;  and  when  this  house  is  full  a  general  solemn 
funeral  takes  place ;  when  the  nearest  kindred  or  friends  of  the  deceased,  on 
a  day  appointed,  repair  to  the  bone-house,  take  up  the  respective  coffins, 
and,  following  one  another  in  order  of  seniority,  the  nearest  relations  and 
connections  attending  their  respective  corps,  and  the  multitude  following 
after  them,  all  as  one  family,  with  united  voice  of  alternate  allelujah  and 
lamentation,  slowly  proceeding  on  to  the  place  of  general  interment,  when 
they  place  the  coffins  in  order,  forming  a  pyramid  ;*  and,  lastly,  cover  all 
over  with  earth,  which  raises  a  conical  hill  or  mount;  when  they  return  to 
town  in  order  of  solemn  procession,  concluding  the  day  with  a  festival, 
which  is  called  the  feast  of  the  dead." 

Morganf  also  alludes  to  this  mode  of  burial : 

"  The  body  of  the  deceased  was  exposed  upon  a  bark  scaffolding 
erected  upon  poles  or  secured  upon  the  limbs  of  trees,  where  it  was  left  to 
waste  to  a  skeleton.  -  After  this  had  been  effected  by  the  process  of  decom- 
position in  the  open  air,  the  bones  were  removed  either  to  the  former  house 
of  the  deceased,  or  to  a  small  bark-house  by  its  side,  prepared  for  their 
reception.  In  this  manner  the  skeletons  of  the  whole  family  were  preserved 
from  generation  to  generation  by  the  filial  or  parental  affection  of  the  living. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  number  of  years,  or  in  a  season  of  public  insecurity, 
or  on  the  eve  of  abandoning  a  settlement,  it  was  customary  to  collect  these 
skeletons  from  the  whole  community  around  and  consign  them  to  a  com- 
mon resting-place. 

'  To  this  custom,  which  is  not  confined  to  the  Iroquois,  is  doubtless  to 

"  Some  ingenious  men  whom  I  have  conversed  with  have  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  all  those 
pyramidal  artificial  hills,  usually  called  Indian  mounds,  were  raised  on  this  occasion,  and  are  gene- 
rally sepulchers.     However,  I  am  of  different  opinion." 
of  the  Iroquois,  1851,  p.  173. 


OSSUARIES.  79 

be  ascribed  the  burrows  and  bone-mounds  which  have  been  found  in  such 
numbers  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  On  opening-  these  mounds  the 
skeletons  are  usually  found  arranged  in  horizontal  layers,  a  conical  pyra- 
mid, those  in  each  layer  radiating  from  a  common  center.  In  other  cases 
they  are  found  placed  promiscuously." 

D.  G.  Brinton*  likewise  gives  an  account  of  the  interment  of  collected 
bones : 

u  East  of  the  Mississippi  nearly  every  nation  was  accustomed  at  stated 
periods — usually  once  in  eight  or  ten  years — to  collect  and  clean  the  osseous 
remains  of  those  of  its  number  who  had  died  in  the  intervening  time,  and 
inter  them  in  one  common  sepulcher,  lined  with  choice  furs,  and  marked 
with  a  mound  of  wood,  stone,  or  earth.  Such  is  the  origin  of  those  im- 
mense tumuli  filled  with  the  mortal  remains  of  nations  and  generations, 
which  the  antiquary,  with  irreverent  curiosity,  so  frequently  chances  upon 
in  all  portions  of  our  territory.  Throughout  Central  America  the  same 
usage  obtained  in  various  localities,  as  early  writers  and  existing  monu- 
ments abundantly  testify.  Instead  of  interring  the  bones,  were  they  those 
of  some  distinguished  chiftain,  they  were  deposited  in  the  temples  or  the 
council-houses,  usually  in  small  chests  of  canes  or  splints.  Such  were  the 
charnel-houses  which  the  historians  of  De  Soto's  expedition  so  often  men- 
tion, and  these  are  the  'arks'  Adair  and  other  authors  who  have  sought  to 
trace  the  descent  of  the  Indians  from  the  Jews  have  likened  to  that  which 
the  ancient  Israelites  bore  with  them  in  their  migrations. 

"A  widow  among  the  Tahkalis  was  obliged  to  carry  the  bones  of  her 
deceased  husband  wherever  she  went  for  four  years,  preserving  them  in 
such  a  casket,  handsomely  decorated  with  feathers  (Rich.  Arc.  Exp.,  p.  260). 
The  Caribs  of  the  mainland  adopted  the  custom  for  all,  without  exception. 
About  a  year  after  death  the  bones  were  cleaned,  bleached,  painted, 
wrapped  in  odorous  balsams,  placed  in  a  wicker  basket,  and  kept  suspended 
from  the  door  of  their  dwelling  (Gumilla  Hist,  del  Orinoco  I.,  pp.  199, 
202,  204).  When  the  quantity  of  these  heirlooms  became  burdensome 
they  were  removed  to  some  inaccessible  cavern  and  stowed  away  with  rev- 
erential care." 

•Myths  of  the  New  World,  1868,  p.  255. 


30  GOLGOTHAS— MANDANS. 

George  Catlin*  describes  what  he  calls  the  "Golgothas"  of  the  Mandans: 

"  There  are  several  of  these  golgothas,  or  circles  of  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  in  diameter,  and  in  the  center  of  each  ring  or  circle  is  a  little  mound  of 
three  feet  high,  on  which  uniformly  rest  two  buffalo  skulls  (a  male  and 
female),  and  in  the  center  of  the  little  mound  is  erected  'a  medicine  pole,'  of 
about  twenty  feet  high,  supporting  many  curious  articles  of  mystery  and 
superstition,  which  they  suppose  have  the  power  of  guarding  and  protect- 
ing this  sacred  arrangement. 

"  Here,  then,  to  this  strange  place  do  these  people  again  resort  to 
evince  their  further  affections  for  the  dead,  not  in  groans  and  lamentations, 
however,  for  several  years  have  cured  the  anguish,  but  fond  affection  and 
endearments  are  here  renewed,  and  conversations  are  here  held  and  cher- 
ished with  the  dead.  Each  one  of  these  skulls  is  placed  upon  a  bunch  of 
wild  sage,  which  has  been  pulled  and  placed  under  it.  The  wife  knows,  by 
some  mark  or  resemblance,  the  skull  of  her  husband  or  her  child  which  lies 
in  this  group,  and  there  seldom  passes  a  day  that  she  does  not  visit  it  with 
a  dish  of  the  best-cooked  food  that  her  wigwam  affords,  which  she  sets 
before  the  skull  at  night,  and  returns  for  the  dish  in  the  morning.  As  soon 
as  it  is  discovered  that  the  sage  on  which  the  skull  rests  is  beginning  to 
decay,  the  woman  cuts  a  fresh  bunch  and  places  the  skull  carefully  upon 
it,  removing  that  which  was  under  it. 

"Independent  of  the  above-named  duties,  which  draw  the  women  to 
this  spot,  they  visit  it  from  inclination,  and  linger  upon  it  to  hold  converse 
and  company  with  the  dead.  There  is  scarcely  an  hour  in  a  pleasant  day 
but  more  or  less  of  these  women  may  be  seen  sitting  or  lying  by  the  skull 
of  their  child  or  husband,  talking  to  it  in  the  most  pleasant  and  endearing 
language  that  they  can  use  (as  they  were  wont  to  do  in  former  days),  and 
seemingly  getting  an  answer  back." 

From  these  accounts  it  may  be  seen  $hat  the  peculiar  customs  which 
have  been  described  by  the  authors  cited  were  not  confined  to  any  special 
tribe  or  area  of  country,  although  they  do  not  appear  to  have  prevailed 
among  the  Indians  of  the  northwest  coast,  so  far  as  known. 

*Hist.  N.  A.  Indians,  1844,1,  p.  90. 


CANOE-BUEIAL— CLALLAMS.  81 

SUPEETEEEENE  AND  AEEIAL  BUEIAL  IN  CANOES. 

The  next  mode  of  burial  to  be  remarked  is  that  of  deposit  in  canoes, 
either  supported  on  posts,  on  the  ground,  or  swung  from  trees,  and  is  com- 
mon only  to  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  northwest  coast.  From  a  number  of 
examples,  the  following,  relating  to  the  Clallams  and  furnished  by  the  Rev. 
M.  Eells,  missionary  to  the  Skokomish  Agency,  Washington  Territory,  is 
selected : 

"  The  deceased  was  a  woman  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
dead  of  consumption.  She  died  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  I 
went  to  the  house  to  attend  the  funeral.  She  had  then  been  placed  in  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  box  for  a  coffin,  which  was  about  3^  feet  long, 
If  wide,  and  1£  high.  She  was  very  poor  when  she  died,  owing  to  her 
disease,  or  she  could  not  have  been  put  in  this  box.  A  fire  was  burning 
near  by,  where  a  large  number  of  her  things  had  been  consumed,  and  the 
rest  were  in  three  boxes  near  the  coffin.  Her  mother  sang  the  mourning 
song,  sometimes  with  others,  and  often  saying  :  '  My  daughter,  my  daughter, 
why  did  you  die1?'  and  similar  words.  The  burial  did  not  take  place  until 
the  next  day,  and  I  was  invited  to  go.  It  was  an  aerial  burial,  in  a  canoe. 
The  canoe  was  about  25  feet  long.  The  posts,  of  old  Indian  hewed  boards, 
were  about  a  foot  wide.  Holes  were  cut  in  these,  in  which  boards  were 
placed,  on  which  the  canoe  rested.  One  thing  I  noticed  while  this  was  done 
which  was  new  to  me,  but  the  significance  of  which  I  did  not  learn.  As 
fast  as  the  holes  were  cut  in  the  posts  green  leaves  were  gathered  and  placed 
over  the  holes  until  the  posts  were  put  in  the  ground.  The  coffin-box 
and  the  three  others  containing  her  things  were  placed  in  the  canoe  and  a 
roof  of  boards  made  over  the  central  part,  which  was  entirely  covered  with 
white  cloth.  The  head  part  and  the  foot  part  of  her  bedstead  were  then 
nailed  on  to  the  posts,  which  front  the  water,  and  a  dress  nailed  on  each  of 
these.  After  pronouncing  the  benediction,  all  left  the  hill  and  went  to  the 
beach  except  her  father,  mother,  and  brother,  who  remained  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  pounding  on  the  canoe  and  mourning.  They  then  came  down 
and  made  a  present  to  those  persons  who  were  there — a  gun  to  me,  a  blanket 
to  each  of  two  or  three  others,  and  a  dollar  and  a  half  to  each  of  the  rest, 
6  Y 


82  CANOE-BURIAL. 

there  being  about  fifteen  persons  present.     Three  or  four  of  them  then 
made  short  speeches,  and  we  came  home. 

"  The  reason  why  she  was  buried  thus  is  said  to  be  because  she  is  a 
prominent  woman  in  the  tribe.  In  about  nine  months  it  is  expected  that 
there  will  be  a  'pot-latch'  or  distribution  of  money  near  this  place,  and  as 
each  tribe  shall  come  they  will  send  a  delegation  of  two  or  three  men,  who 
will  carry  a  present  and  leave  it  at  the  grave ;  soon  after  that  shall  be 
done  she  will  be  buried  in  the  ground.  Shortly  after  her  death  both  her 
father  and  mother  cut  off  their  hair  as  a  sign  of  their  grief." 

George  Gibbs*  gives  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  burial  ceremo- 
nies of  the  Indians  of  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  which  is  here 
reproduced  in  its  entirety,  although  it  contains  examples  of  other  modes  of 
burial  besides  that  in  canoes ;  but  to  separate  the  narrative  would  destroy 
the  thread  of  the  story  : 

"  The  common  mode  of  disposing  of  the  dead  among  the  fishing  tribes 
was  in  canoes.  These  were  generally  drawn  into  the  woods  at  some  promi- 
nent point  a  short  distance  from  the  village,  and  sometimes  placed  between 
the  forks  of  trees  or  raised  from  the  ground  on  posts.  Upon  the  Columbia 
River  the  Tsinuk  had  in  particular  two  very  noted  cemeteries,  a  high  iso- 
lated bluff  about  three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz,  called  Mount 
Coffin,  and  one  some  distance  above,  called  Coffin  Rock.  The  former 
would  appear  not  to  have  been  very  ancient.  Mr.  Broughton,  one  of  Van- 
couver's lieutenants,  who  explored  the  river,  makes  mention  only  of  several 
canoes  at  this  place ;  and  Lewis  and  Clarke,  who  noticed  the  mount,  do  not 
speak  of  them  at  all,  but  at  the  time  of  Captain  Wilkes's  expedition  it  is  con- 
jectured that  there  were  at  least  3,000.  A  fire  caused  by  the  carelessness 
of  one  of  his  party  destroyed  the  whole,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  In- 
dians. 

*'  Captain  Belcher,  of  the  British  ship  Sulphur,  who  visited  the  river  in 
1839,  remarks:^'  In  the  year  1836  [1826]  the  small-pox  made  great  rav- 
ages, and  it  was  followed  a  few  years  since  by  the  ague.  Consequently 
Corpse  Island  and  Coffin  Mount,  as  well  as- the  adjacent  shores,  were  studded 
not  only  with  canoes,  but  at  the  period  of  our  visit  the  skulls  and  skeletons 

*Cont.  N.  A.  Ethnol.,  1877,  1,  p.  200. 


BUBIAL  HOUSES— COLUMBIA  EIVEE.  83 

were  strewed  about  in  all  directions.'  This  method  generally  prevailed  on 
the  neighboring  coasts,  as  at  Shoal  Water  Bay,  &c.  Farther  up  the  Colum- 
bia, as  at  the  Cascades,  a  different  form  was  adopted,  which  is  thus  described 
by  Captain  Clarke  : 

"About  half  a  mile  below  this  house,  in  a  very  thick  part  of  the  woods, 
is  an  ancient  Indian  burial-place  ;  it  consists  of  eight  vaults,  made  of  pine 
or  cedar  boards,  closely  connected,  about  eight  feet  square  and  six  in 
height,  the  top  securely  covered  with  wide  boards,  sloping  a  little,  so  as  to 
convey  off  the  rain.  The  direction  of  all  these  is  east  and  west,  the  door 
being  on  the  eastern  side,  and  partially  stopped  with  wide  boards,  decorated 
with  rude  pictures  of  men  and  other  animals.  On  entering  we  found  in 
some  of  them  four  dead  bodies,  carefully  wrapped  in  skins,  tied  with  cords 
of  grass  and  bark,  lying  on  a  mat  in  a  direction  east  and  west ;  the  other 
vaults  contained  only  bones,  which  in  some  of  them  were  piled  to  a  height 
of  four  feet ;  on  the  tops  of  the  vaults  and  on  poles  attached  to  them  hung 
brass  kettles  and  frying-pans  with  holes  in  their  bottoms,  baskets,  bowls, 
sea-shells,  skins,  pieces  of  cloth,  hair  bags  of  trinkets,  and  small  bones,  the 
offerings  of  friendship  or  affection,  which  have  been  saved  by  a  pious  ven- 
eration from  the  ferocity  of  war  or  the  more  dangerous  temptation  of  indi- 
vidual gain.  The  whole  of  the  walls  as  well  as  the  door  were  decorated  with 
strange  figures  cut  and  painted  on  them,  and  besides  these  were  several 
wooden  images  of  men,  some  of  them  so  old  and  decayed  as  to  have  almost 
lost  their  shape,  which  were  all  placed  against  the  sides  of  the  vault. 
These  images,  as  well  as  those  in  the  houses  we  have  lately  seen,  do  not 
appear  to  be  at  all  the  objects  of  adoration  in  this  place ;  they  were  most 
probably  intended  as  resemblances  of  those  whose  decease  they  indicate  ; 
and  when  we  observe  them  in  houses  they  occupy  the  most  conspicuous 
part,  but  are  treated  more  like  ornaments  than  objects  of  worship.  Near 
the  vaults  which  are  still  standing  are  the  remains  of  others  on  the  ground, 
completely  rotted  and  covered  with  moss ;  and  as  they  are  formed  of  the 
most  durable  pine  and  cedar  timber,  there  is  every  appearance  that  for  a  very 
long  series  of  years  this  retired  spot  has  been  the  depository  for  the  Indians 
near  this  place." 

"Another  depository  of  this  kind  upon  an  island  in  the  river  a  few 


84  BURIAL  BOXES— MAKAH. 

miles  above  gave  it  the  name  of  Sepulcher  Island.  The  Watlala,  a  tribe  of 
the  Upper  Tsinuk,  whose  burial  place  is  here  described,  are  now  nearly 
extinct ;  but  a  number  of  the  sepulchers  still  remain  in  different  states  of 
preservation.  The  position  of  the  body,  as  noticed  by  Clarke,  is,  I  believe, 
of  universal  observance,  the  head  being  always  placed  to  the  west.  The 
reason  assigned  to  me  is  that  the  road  to  the  mc-mel-us-illa-hee,  the  country 
of  the  dead,  is  toward  the  west,  and  if  they  place  them  otherwise  they 
would  be  confused.  East  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  the  tribes  whose  habits 
are  equestrian,  and  who  use  canoes  only  for  ferriage  or  transportation  pur- 
poses, bury  their  dead,  usually  heaping  over  them  piles  of  stones,  either 
to  mark  the  spot  or  to  prevent  the  bodies  from  being  exhumed  by  the  prairie 
wolf.  Among  the  Yakamas  we  saw  many  of  their  graves  placed  in  con- 
spicuous points  of  the  basaltic  walls  which  line  the  lower  valleys,  and  desig- 
nated by  a  clump  of  poles  planted  over  them,  from  which  fluttered  various 
articles  of  dress.  Formerly  these  prairie  tribes  killed  horses  over  the 
graves — a  custom  now  falling  into  disuse  in  consequence  of  the  teachings  of 
the  whites. 

"Upon  Puget  Sound  all  the  forms  obtain  in  different  localities.  Among 
the  Makah  of  Cape  Flattery  the  graves  are  covered  with  a  sort  of  box,  rudely 
constructed  of  boards,  and  elsewhere  on  the  Sound  the  same  method  is 
adopted  in  some  cases,  while  in  others  the  bodies  are  placed  on  elevated 
scaffolds.  As  a  general  thing,  however,  the  Indians  upon  the  water  placed 
the  dead  in  canoes,  while  those  at  a  distance  from  it  buried  them.  Most  of 
the  graves  are  surrounded  with  strips  of  cloth,  blankets,  and  other  articles 
of  property.  Mr.  Cameron,  an  English  gentleman  resjding  at  Esquimalt 
Harbor,  Vancouver  Island,  informed  me  that  on  his  place  there  were  graves 
having  at  each  corner  a  large  stone,  the  interior  space  filled  with  rubbish. 
The  origin  of  these  was  unknown  to  the  present  Indians. 

"  The  distinctions  of  rank  or  wealth  in  all  cases  were  very  marked ; 
persons  of  no  consideration  and  slaves  being  buried  with  very  little  care  or 
respect.  Vancouver,  whose  attention  was  particularly  attracted  to  their 
methods  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  mentions  that  at  Port  Discovery  he  saw 
baskets  suspended  to  the  trees  containing  the  skeletons  of  young  children, 
and,  what  is  not  easily  explained,  small  square  boxes,  containing,  apparently, 


BURIAL  BOXES  AND  CANOES.  85 

food.  I  do  not  think  that  any  of  these  tribes  place  articles  of  food  with  the 
dead,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  learn  from  living  Indians  that  they  formerly 
followed  that  practice.  What  he  took  for  such  I  do  not  understand.  He 
also  mentions  seeing-  in  the  same  place  a  cleared  space  recently  burned 
over,  in  which  the  skulls  and  bones  of  a  number  lay  among  the  ashes.  The 
practice  of  burning  the  dead  exists  in  parts  of  California  and  among  the 
Tshimsyan  of  Fort  Simpson.  It  is  also  pursued  by  the  "  Carriers"  of  New 
California,  but  no  intermediate  tribes,  to  my  knowledge,  follow  it.  Cer- 
tainly those  of  the  Sound  do  not  at  present. 

"It  is  clear  from  Vancouver's  narrative  that  some  great  epidemic  had 
recently  passed  through  the  country,  as  manifested  by  the  quantity  of  human 
remains  uncared  for  and  exposed  at  the  time  of  his  visit,  and  very  proba- 
bly the  Indians,  being  afraid,  had  burned  a  house,  in  which  the  inhabitants 
had  perished  with  the  dead  in  it.  This  is  frequently  done.  They  almost 
invariably  remove  from  any  place  where  sickness  has  prevailed,  generally 
destroying  the  house  also. 

"At  Penn  Cove  Mr.  Whidbey,  one  of  Vancouver's  officers,  noticed 
several  sepulchers  formed  exactly  like  a  sentry-box.  Some  of  them  were 
open,  and  contained  the  skeletons  of  many  young  children  tied  up  in 
baskets.  The  smaller  bones  of  adults  were  likewise  noticed,  but  not  one 
of  the  limb  bones  was  found ;  which  gave  rise  to  an  opinion  that  these,  by 
the  living  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  were  appropriated  to  useful  pur- 
poses, such  as  pointing  their  arrows,  spears,  or  other  weapons. 

"It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  such  a  practice  is  altogether  for- 
eign to  Indian  character.  The  bones  of  the  adults  had  probably  been 
removed  and  buried  elsewhere.  The  corpses  of  children  are  variously  dis- 
posed of;  sometimes  by  suspending  them,  at  others  by  placing  in  the  hollows 
of  trees.  A  cemetery  devoted  to  infants  is,  however,  an  unusual  occurrence. 
In  cases  of  chiefs  or  men  of  note  much  pomp  was  used  in  the  accompani- 
ments of  the  rite.  The  canoes  were  of  great  size  and  value — the  war  or 
state  canoes  of  the  deceased.  Frequently  one  was  inverted  over  that  hold- 
ing the  body,  and  in  one  instance,  near  Shoalwater  Bay,  the  corpse  was 
deposited  in  a  small  canoe,  which  again  was  placed  in  a  larger  one  and  cov- 
ered with  a  third.  Among  the  Tsinuk  and  Tsihalis  the  tamahno-us  board  of 


86  BUEIAL  SACKIFICE— TSINUK. 

the  owner  was  placed  near  him.  The  Puget  Sound  Indians  do  not  make 
these  tamalmo-us  boards,  but  they  sometimes  constructed  effigies  of  their 
chiefs,  resembling  the  person  as  nearly  as  possible,  dressed  in  his  usual 
costume,  and  wearing  the  articles  of  which  he  was  fond.  One  of  these,  rep- 
resenting the  Skagit  chief  Sneestum,  stood  very  conspicuously  upon  a  high 
bank  on  the  eastern  side  of  Whidbey  Island.  The  figures  observed  by 
Captain  Clarke  at  the  Cascades  were  either  of  this  description  or  else  the 
carved  posts  which  had  ornamented  the  interior  of  the  houses  of  the 
deceased,  and  were  connected  with  the  superstition  of  the  tamalmo-us.  The 
most  valuable  articles  of  property  were  put  into  or  hung  up  around  the 
grave,  being  first  carefully  rendered  unserviceable,  and  the  living  family 
were  literally  stripped  to  do  honor  to  the  dead  No  little  self-denial  must 
have  been  practiced  in  parting  with  articles  so  precious,  but  those  interested 
frequently  had  the  least  to  say  on  the  subject.  The  graves  of  women  were 
distinguished  by  a  cup,  a  Kamas  stick,  or  other  implement  of  their  occupa- 
tion, and  by  articles  of  dress. 

"Slaves  w^ere  killed  in  proportion  to  the  rank  and  wealth  of  the  deceased. 
In  some  instances  they  were  starved  to  death,  or  even  tied  to  the  dead  body 
and  left  to  perish  thus  horribly.  At  present  this  practice  has  been  almost 
entirely  given  up,  but  till  within  a  very  few  years  it  was  not  uncommon. 
A  case  which  occurred  in  1850  has  been  already  mentioned.  Still  later,  in 
1853,  Toke,  a  Tsinuk  chief  living  at  Shoal  water  Bay,  undertook  to  kill  a 
slave  girl  belonging  to  his  daughter,  who,  in  dying,  had  requested  that  this 
might  be  done.  The  woman  fled,  and  was  found  by  some  citizens  in  the 
woods  half  starved.  Her  master  attempted  to  reclaim  her,  but  was  soundly 
thrashed  and  warned  against  another  attempt. 

"  It  was  usual  in  the  case  of  chiefs  to  renew  or  repair  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time  the  materials  and  ornaments  of  the  burial-place.  With  the 
common  class  of  persons  family  pride  or  domestic  affection  was  satisfied 
with  the  gathering  together  of  the  bones  after  the  flesh  Tiad  decayed  and 
wrapping  them  in  a  new  mat.  The  violation  of  the  grave  was  always 
regarded  as  an  offense  of  the  first  magnitude  and  provoked  severe  revenge. 
Captain  Belcher  remarks :  '  Great  secrecy  is  observed  in  all  their  burial 
ceremonies,  partly  from  fear  of  Europeans,  and  as  among  themselves  they 


BURIAL  SACRIFICE.  87 

will  instantly  punish  by  death  any  violation  of  the  tomb  or  wage  war  if 
perpetrated  by  another  tribe,  so  they  are  inveterate  and  tenaceously  bent  on 
revenge  should  they  discover  that  any  act  of  the  kind  has  been  perpetrated 
by  a  white  man.  It  is  on  record  that  part  of  the  crew  of  a  vessel  on  her 
return  to  this  port  (the  Columbia)  suffered  because  a  person  who  belonged 
to  her  (but  not  then  in  her)  was  known  to  have  taken  a  skull,  which,  from 
the  process  of  flattening,  had  become  an  object  of  curiosity.'  He  adds, 
however,  that  at  the  period  of  his  visit  to  the  river  'the  skulls  and  skele- 
tons were  scattered  about  in  all  directions;  and  as  I  was  on  most  of  their 
positions  unnoticed  by  the  natives,  I  suspect  the  feeling  does  not  extend 
much  beyond  their  relatives,  and  then  only  till  decay  has  destroyed  body, 
goods,  and  chattels.  The  chiefs,  no  doubt,  are  watched,  as  their  canoes  are 
repainted,  decorated,  and  greater  care  taken  by  placing  them  in  sequestered 
spots.' 

"  The  motive  for  sacrificing  or  destroying  property  on  occasion  of 
death  will  be  referred  to  in  treating  of  their  religious  ideas  Wailing  for 
the  dead  is  continued  for  a  long  time,  and  seems  to  be  rather  a  ceremonial 
performance  than  an  act  of  spontaneous  grief.  The  duty,  of  course,  belongs 
to  the  woman,  and  the  early  morning  is  usually  chosen  for  the  purpose. 
They  go  out  alone  to  some  place  a  little  distant  from  the  lodge  or  camp, 
and  in  a  loud,  sobbing  voice  repeat  a  sort  of  stereotyped  formula,  as,  for 
instance,  a  mother,  on  the  loss  of  her  child,  lAh  sealib  shed-da  bud-dah  ah  ta 
bud!  ad-de-dah,  Ah  chief!7  'My  child  dead,  alas!'  When  in  dreams  they 
see  any  of  their  deceased  friends  this  lamentation  is  renewed." 

With  most  of  the  Northwest  Indians  it  was  quite  common,  as  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Gibbs,  to  kill  or  bury  with  the  dead  a  living  slave,  who,  fail- 
ing to  die  within  three  days  was  strangled  by  another  slave,  but  the  custom 
has  also  prevailed  among  other  tribes  and  peoples,  in  many  cases  the  indi- 
viduals offering  themselves  as  voluntary  sacrifices.  Bancroft  states  "that  in 
Panama,  Nata,  and  some  other  districts,  when  a  cacique  died  those  of  his 
concubines  that  loved  him  enough,  those  that  he  loved  ardently  and  so 
appointed,  as  well  as  certain  servants,  killed  themselves  and  were  interred 
with  him.  This  they  did  in  order  that  they  might  wait  upon  him  in  the 


38  BTJEIAL— AQUATIC— GOSH-UTES. 

land  of  spirits."     It  is  well  known  to  all  readers  of  history  to  what  an 
extreme  this  revolting  practice  has  prevailed  in  Mexico,  South  America,  and 

Africa. 

AQUATIC  BUKIAL. 

As  a  confirmed  rite  or  ceremony,  this  mode  of  disposing  of  the  dead 
has  never  been  followed  by  any  of  our  North  American  Indians,  although 
occasionally  the  dead  have  been  disposed  of  by  sinking  in  springs  or  water- 
courses, by  throwing  into  the  sea,  or  by  setting  afloat  in  canoes.  Among  the 
nations  of  antiquity  the  practice  was  not  uncommon,  for  we  are  informed 
that  the  Ichthyophagi,  or  fish-eaters,  mentioned  by  Ptolemy,  living  in  a 
region  bordering  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  invariably  committed  their  dead  to 
the  sea,  thus  repaying  the  obligations  they  had  incurred  to  its  inhabitants. 
The  Lotophagians  did  the  same,  and  the  Hyperboreans,  with  a  commend- 
able degree  of  forethought  for  the  survivors,  when  ill  or  about  to  die,  threw 
themselves  into  the  sea.  The  burial  of  Baldor  "the  beautiful,"  it  may  be 
remembered,  was  in  a  highly  decorated  ship,  which  was  pushed  down  to  the 
sea,  set  on  fire,  and  committed  to  the  waves.  The  Itzas  of  Guatemala,  liv- 
ing on  the  islands  of  Lake  Peter,  according  to  Bancroft,  are  said  to  have 
thrown  their  dead  into  the  lake  for  want  of  room.  The  Indians  of  Nootka 
Sound  and  the  Chinooks  were  in  the  habit  of  thus  getting  rid  of  their  dead 
slaves,  and,  according  to  Timberlake,  the  Cherokees  of  Tennessee  "seldom 
bury  the  dead,  but  threw  them  into  the  river." 

After  a  careful  search  for  well-authenticated  instances  of  burial,  aquatic 
and  semi-aquatic,  but  two  have  been  found,  which  are  here  given.  The 
first  relates  to  the  Gosh-Utes,  and  is  by  Capt.  J.  H.  Simpson:* 

"  Skull  Valley,  which  is  a  part  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Desert,  and 
which  we  have  crossed  to-day,  Mr.  George  W.  Bean,  my  guide  over  this 
route  last  fall,  says  derives  its  name  from  the  number  of  skulls  which  have 
been  found  in  it,  and  which  have  arisen  from  the  custom  of  the  Goshute 
Indians  burying  their  dead  in  springs,  which  they  sink  with  stones  or  keep 
down  with  sticks.  He  says  he  has  actually  seen  the  Indians  bury  their 
dead  in  this  way  near  the  town  of  Provo,  where  he  resides." 

As   corroborative   of  this   statement,  Captain    Simpson   mentions   in 

*  Exploration  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley,  Utah,  iar>9,  p.  48. 


LIVING  SEPULCHEES.  89 

another  part  of  the  volume  that,  arriving1  at  a  spring  one  evening,  the}7  were 
obliged  to  dig  out  the  skeleton  of  an  Indian  from  the  mud  at  the  bottom 
before  using  the  water. 

This  peculiar  mode  of  burial  is  entirely  unique,  so  far  as  known,  and 
but  from  the  well-known  probity  of  the  relator  might  well  be  questioned, 
especially  when  it  is  remembered  that  in  the  country  spoken  of  water  is 
quite  scarce  and  Indians  are  careful  not  to  pollute  the  streams  or  springs 
near  which  they  live.  Conjecture  seems  useless  to  establish  a  reason  for 
this  disposition  of  the  dead. 

The  second  example  is  by  Catlin*  and  relates  to  the  Chinook : 
u*  *  *  This  little  cradle  has  a  strap  which  passes  over  the  woman's 
forehead  whilst  the  cradle  rides  on  her  back,  and  if  the  child  dies  during  its 
subjection  to  this  rigid  mode  its  cradle  becomes  its  coffin,  forming  a  little 
canoe,  in  which  it  lies  floating  on  the  water  in  some  sacred  pool,  where  they 
are  often  in  the  habit  of  fastening  their  canoes  containing  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  old  and  young,  or,  which  is  often  the  case,  elevated  into  the  branches 
of  trees,  where  their  bodies  are  left  to  decay  and  their  bones  to  dry  whilst 
they  are  bandaged  in  many  skins  and  curiously  packed  in  their  canoes, 
with  paddles  to  propel  and  ladles  to  bail  them  out,  and  provisions  to  last 
and  pipes  to  smoke  as  they  are  performing  their  'long  journey  after  death 
to  their  contemplated  hunting  grounds,'  which  these  people  think  is  to  be 
performed  in  their  canoes." 

LIVING  SEPULCHEES. 

This  is  a  term  quaintly  used  by  the  learned  M.  Pierre  Muret  to  express 
the  devouring  of  the  dead  by  birds  and  animals  or  the  surviving  friends 
and  relatives.  Exposure  of  the  dead  to  animals  and  birds  has  already  been 
mentioned,  but  in  the  absence  of  any  positive  proof  it  is  not  believed  that 
the  North  American  Indians  followed  the  custom,  although  cannibalism  may 
have  prevailed  to  a  limited  extent,  It  is  true  that  a  few  accounts  are  given 
by  authors,  but  these  are  considered  to  be  so  apochryphal  in  character  that 
for  the  present  it  is  deemed  prudential  to  omit  them.  That  such  a  means  of 
disposing  of  the  dead  was  not  in  practice  is  somewhat  remarkable  when  we 

*  Hiet.  North  American  Indians,  1844,  ii,  p.  141. 


90  MOURNING—  CROWS. 

take  into  consideration  how  many  analogies  have  been  found  in  comparing 
old  and  new  world  funeral  observances,  and  the  statements  made  by  Bruhier, 
Lafitau,  Muret,  and  others,  who  give  a  number  of  examples  of  this  peculiar 
mode  of  burial. 

For  instance,  the  Tartars  sometimes  ate  their  dead,  and  the  Massageties, 
Derbices,  and  Effedens  did  the  same,  having  previously  strangled  the  aged 
and  mixed  their  flesh  with  mutton.  Horace  and  Tertulian  both  affirm 
that  the  Irish  and  ancient  Britons  devoured  the  dead,  and  Lafitau  remarks 
that  certain  Indians  of  South  America  did  the  same,  esteeming  this  mode 
of  disposal  more  honorable  and  much  to  be  preferred  than  to  rot  and  be 
eaten  by  worms.  To  the  credit  of  our  savages,  this  barbarous  and  revolt- 
ing practice  is  not  believed  to  have  been  practiced  by  them. 

MOURNING,  FEASTS,  FOOD,  DANCES,  SONGS,  GAMES,  POSTS,  FIRES,  AND 
SUPERSTITIONS  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  BURIAL. 

The  above  subjects  are  coincidental  with  burial,  and  some  of  them, 
particularly  mourning,  have  been  more  or  less  treated  of  in  this  paper,  yet 
it  may  be  of  advantage  to  here  give  a  few  of  the  collected  examples,  under 

separate  heads. 

MOURNING. 

One  of  the  most  carefully  described  scenes  of  mourning  at  the  death 
of  a  chief  of  the  Crows  is  related  in  the  life  of  Beckwourth,*  who  for  many 
years  lived  among  this  people,  finally  attaining  great  distinction  as  a 
warrior. 

"I  dispatched  a  herald  to  the  village  to  inform  them  of  the  head 
chief's  death,  and  then,  burying  him  according  to  his  directions,  we  slowly 
proceeded  homewards.  My  very  soul  sickened  at  the  contemplation  of  the 
scenes  that  would  be  enacted  at  my  arrival.  When  we  drew  in  sight  of  the 
village,  we  found  every  lodge  laid  prostrate.  We  entered  amid  shrieks, 
cries,  and  yells.  Blood  was  streaming  from  every  conceivable  part  of  the 
bodies  of  all  who  were  old  enough  to  comprehend  their  loss.  Hundreds  of 
fingers  were  dismembered;  hair  torn  from  the  head  lay  in  profusion  about 
the  paths;  wails  and  moans  in  every  direction  assailed  the  ear,  where  unre- 

*  Autobiography  of  James  Beckwourth,  1856,  p.  269. 


MOUENING— CHIPPEWAS.  91 

strained  joy  had  a  few  hours  before  prevailed.  This  fearful  mourning 
lasted  until  evening  of  the  next  day.  *  *  * 

"A  herald  having  been  dispatched  to  our  other  villages  to  acquaint 
them  with  the  death  of  our  head  chief,  and  request  them  to  assemble  at 
the  Rose  Bud,  in  order  to  meet  our  village  and  devote  themselves  to  a 
general  time  of  mourning,  there  met,  in  conformity  with  this  summons,  over 
ten  thousand  Crows  at  the  place  indicated.  Such  a  scene  of  disorderly, 
vociferous  mourning  no  imagination  can  conceive  nor  any  pen  portray. 
Long  Hair  cut  off  a  large  roll  of  his  hair,  a  thing  he  was  never  known  to  do 
before.  The  cutting  and  hacking  of  human  flesh  exceeded  all  my  previous 
experience;  ringers  were  dismembered  as  readily  as  twigs,  and  blood  was 
poured  out  like  water.  Many  of  the  warriors  would  cut  two  gashes  nearly 
the  entire  length  of  their  arm  ;  then,  separating  the  skin  from  the  flesh  at  one 
end,  would  grasp  it  in  their  other  hand,  and  rip  it  asunder  to  the  shoulder. 
Others  would  carve  various  devices  upon  their  breasts  and  shoulders,  and 
raise  the  skin  in  the  same  manner  to  make  the  scars  show  to  advantage 
after  the  wound  was  healed.  Some  of  their  mutilations  were  ghastly,  and 
my  heart  sickened  to  look  at  them,  but  they  would  not  appear  to  receive 
any  pain  from  them." 

From  I.  L  Mahan,  United  States  Indian  Agent  for  the  Chippewas  of 
Lake  Superior,  Red  Cliff,  Wisconsin,  the  following  detailed  account  of 
mourning  has  been  received  : 

"  There  is  probably  no  people  that  exhibit  more  sorrow  and  grief  for 
their  dead  than  they.  The  young  widow  mourns  the  loss  of  her  husband; 
by  day  as  by  night  she  is  heard  silently  sobbing  ;  she  is  a  constant  visitor 
to  the  place  of  rest;  with  the  greatest  reluctance  will  she  follow  the  raised 
camp.  The  friends  and  relatives  of  the  young  mourner  will  incessantly 
devise  methods  to  distract  her  mind  from  the  thought  of  her  lost  husband. 
She  refuses  nourishment,  but  as  nature  is  exhausted  she  is  prevailed  upon  to 
partake  of  food;  the  supply  is  scant,  but  on  every  occasion  the  best  and  largest 
proportion  is  deposited  upon  the  grave  of  her  husband.  In  the  mean  time 
the  female  relatives  of  the  deceased  have,  according  to  custom,  submitted 
to  her  charge  a  parcel  made  up  of  different  cloths  ornamented  with  bead- 
work  and  eagles'  feathers,  which  she  is  charged  to  keep  by  her  side — the 


92  MOUENING— CHOCTAWS. 

place  made  vacant  by  the  demise  of  her  husband — a  reminder  of  her  widow- 
hood. She  is  therefore  for  a  term  of  twelve  moons  not  permitted  to  wear 
any  finery,  neither  is  she  permitted  to  slicken  up  and  comb  her  head ;  this 
to  avoid  attracting  attention.  Once  in  a  while  a  female  relative  of  deceased, 
commiserating  with  her  grief  and  sorrow,  will  visit  her  and  voluntarily 
proceed  to  comb  out  the  long-neglected  and  matted  hair.  With  a  jealous 
eye  a  vigilant  watch  is  kept  over  her  conduct  during  the  term  of  her  widow- 
hood, yet  she  is  allowed  the  privilege  to  marry,  any  time  during  her 
widowhood,  an  unmarried  brother  or  cousin,  or  a  person  of  the  same  Dodem 
[sic]  (family  mark)  of  her  husband. 

"  At  the  expiration  of  her  term,  the  vows  having  been  faithfully  perform- 
ed and  kept,  the  female  relatives  of  deceased  assemble  and,  with  greetings 
commensurate  to  the  occasion,  proceed  to  wash  her  face,  comb  her  hair,  and 
attire  her  person  with  new  apparel,  and  otherwise  demonstrating  the  release 
from  her  vow  and  restraint.  Still  she  has  not  her  entire  freedom.  If  she 
will  still  refuse  to  marry  a  relative  of  the  deceased  and  will  marry  another, 
she  then  has  to  purchase  her  freedom  by  giving  a  certain  amount  of  goods 
and  whatever  else  she  might  have  manufactured  during  her  widowhood  in 
anticipation  of  the  future  now  at  hand.  Frequently,  though,  during  widow- 
hood the  vows  are  disregarded  and  an  inclination  to  flirt  and  play  courtship 
or  form  an  alliance  of  marriage  outside  of  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  is 
being  indulged,  and  when  discovered  the  widow  is  set  upon  by  the  female 
relatives,  her  slick  braided  hair  is  shorn  close  up  to  the  back  of  her  neck, 
all  her  apparel  and  trinkets  are  torn  from  her  person,  and  a  quarrel  fre- 
quently results  fatally  to  some  member  of  one  or  the  other  side." 

The  substitution  of  a  reminder  for  the  dead  husband,  made  from  rags*, 
furs,  and  other  articles,  is  not  confined  alone  to  the  Chippewas,  other  tribes 
having  the  same  custom.  In  some  instances  the  widows  are  obliged  to 
carry  around  with  them,  for  a  variable  period,  a  bundle  containing  the  bones 
of  the  deceased  consort. 

Benson*  gives  the  following  account  of  their  funeral  ceremonies, 
embracing  the  disposition  of  the  body,  mourning  feast  and  dance : 

"Their  funeral  is  styled  by  them  'the  last  cry.' 

"Life  among  the  Choctaws,  1860,  p.  294. 


BUEIAL  FEASTS.  93 

"When  the  husband  dies  the  friends  assemble,  prepare  the  grave,  and 
place  the  corpse  in  it,  but  do  not  fill  it  up.  The  gun,  bow  and  arrows, 
hatchet  and  knife  are  deposited  in  the  grave.  Poles  are  planted  at  the 
head  and  the  foot,  upon  which  flags  are  placed;  the  grave  is  then  enclosed 
by  pickets  driven  in  the  ground.  The  funeral  ceremonies  now  begin,  the 
widow  being  the  chief  mourner.  At  night  and  morning  she  will  go  to  the 
grave  and  pour  forth  the  most  piteous  cries  and  wailings.  It  is  not  impor- 
tant that  any  other  member  of  the  family  should  take  any  very  active  part 
in  the  'cry,'  though  they  do  participate  to  some  extent. 

"  The  widow  wholly  neglects  her  toilet,  while  she  daily  goes  to  the 
grave  during  one  entire  moon  from  the  date  when  the  death  occurred.  On 
the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  the  moon  the  friends  all  assemble  at  the 
cabin  of  the  disconsolate  widow,  bringing  provisions  for  a  sumptuous  feast, 
which  consists  of  corn  and  jerked  beef  boiled  together  in  a  kettle.  While 
the  supper  is  preparing,  the  bereaved  wife  goes  to  the  grave,  and  pours  out, 
with  unusual  vehemence,  her  bitter  wailings  and  lamentations.  When  the 
food  is  thoroughly  cooked  the  kettle  is  taken  from  the  fire  and  placed  in 
the  center  of  the  cabin,  and  the  friends  gather  around  it,  passing  the  buffalo- 
horn  spoon  from  hand  to  hand  and  from  mouth  to  mouth  till  all  have  been 
bountifully  supplied.  While  supper  is  being  served,  two  of  the  oldest  men 
of  the  company  quietly  withdraw  and  go  to  the  grave  and  fill  it  up,  taking 
down  the  flags.  All  then  join  in  a  dance,  which  not  unfrequently  is  con- 
tinued till  morning ;  the  widow  does  not  fail  to  unite  in  the  dance,  and  to 
contribute  her  part  to  the  festivities  of  the  occasion.  This  is  the  '  last  cry,"1 
the  days  of  mourning  are  ended,  and  the  widow  is  now  ready  to  form 
another  matrimonial  alliance.  The  ceremonies  are  precisely  the  same 
when  a  man  has  lost  his  wife,  and  they  are  only  slightly  varied  when  any 
other  member  of  the  family  has  died.  (Slaves  were  buried  without  cere- 
monies.)" 

FEASTS. 

In  Beltrami*  an  account  is  given  of  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  one  of 
the  tribes  of  the  west,  including  a  description  of  the  feast  which  took  place 
before  the  body  was  consigned  to  its  final  resting  place : 

"  I  was  a  spectator  of  the  funeral  ceremony  performed  jn  honor  of  the 

*  Pilgrimage,  1828,  ii,  p.  443. 


94  BURIAL  FEASTS— HUEONS. 

manes  of  Cloudy  Weather's  son-in-law,  whose  body  had  remained  with  the 
Sioux,  and  was  suspected  to  have  furnished  one  of  their  repasts.  What 
appeared  not  a  little  singular  and  indeed  ludicrous  in  this  funeral  comedy 
was  the  contrast  exhibited  by  the  terrific  lamentations  and  yells  of  one  part 
of  the  company  while  the  others  were  singing  and  dancing  with  all  their 
might. 

"  At  another  funeral  ceremony  for  a  member  of  the  Grand  Medicine, 
and  at  which  as  a  man  of  another  world  I  was  permitted  to  attend,  the  same 
practice  occurred.  But  at  the  feast  which  took  place  on  that  occasion  an 
allowance  was  served  up  for  the  deceased  out  of  every  article  of  which  it 
consisted,  while  others  were  beating,  wounding,  and  torturing  themselves, 
and  letting  their  blood  flow  both  over  the  dead  man  and  his  provisions, 
thinking  possibly  that  this  was  the  most  palatable  seasoning  for  the  latter 
which  they  could  possibly  supply.  His  wife  furnished  out  an  entertain- 
ment present  for  him  of  all  her  hair  and  rags,  with  which,  together  with  his 
arms,  his  provisions,  his  ornaments,  and  his  mystic  medicine  bag,  he  was 
wrapped  up  in  the  skin  which  had  been  his  last  covering  when  alive.  He 
was  then  tied  round  with  the  bark  of  some  particular  trees  which  they  use 
for  making  cords,  and  bonds  of  a  very  firm  texture  and  hold  (the  only  ones 
indeed  which  they  have),  and  instead  of  being  buried  in  the  earth  was 
hung  up  to  a  large  oak.  The  reason  of  this  was  that,  as  his  favorite  Mani- 
tou  was  the  eagle,  his  spirit  would  be  enabled  more  easily  from  such  a 
situation  to  fly  with  him  to  Paradise." 

Hind*  mentions  an  account  of  a  burial  feast  by  De  Brebeuf  which 
occurred  among  the  Hurons  of  New  York : 

"  The  Jesuit  missionary,  P.  de  Brebeuf,  who  assisted  at  one  of  the 
'feasts  of  the  dead'  at  the  village  of  Ossosane,  before  the  dispersion  of  the 
Hurons,  relates  that  the  ceremony  took  place  in  the  presence  of  2,000  In- 
dians, who  offered  1,200  presents  at  the  common  tomb,  in  testimony  of  their 
grief.  The  people  belonging  to  five  large  villages  deposited  the  bones  of 
their  dead  in  a  gigantic  shroud,  composed  of  forty-eight  robes,  each  robe 
being  made  of  ten  beaver  skins.  After  being  carefully  wrapped  in  this 
shroud,  they  were  placed  between  moss  and  bark.  A  wall  of  stones  was 

*  Canadian  Red  River  Exploring  Expedition,  1860,  ii,  p.  164. 


BUEIAL  FOOD  AND  DANCES.  95 

built  around  this  vast  ossuary  to  preserve  it  from  profanation.  Before 
covering  the  bones  with  earth  a  few  grains  of  Indian  corn  were  thrown  by 
the  women  upon  the  sacred  relics  According  to  the  superstitious  belief  of 
the  Hurons  the  souls  of  the  dead  remain  near  the  bodies  until  the  'feast 
of  the  dead';  after  which  ceremony  they  become  free,  and  can  at  once 
depart  for  the  land  of  spirits,  which  they  believe  to  be  situated  in  the 
regions  of  the  setting  sun." 

SUPER&TITION    REGARDING   BURIAL   FEASTS. 

The  following  account  is  by  Dr.  S.  G.  Wright,  acting  physician  to  the 
Leech  Lake  Agency,  Minnesota  : 

"  Pagan  Indians,  or  those  who  have  not  become  Christians,  still  adhere 
to  the  ancient  practice  of  feasting  at  the  grave  of  departed  friends ;  the 
object  is  to  feast  with  the  departed ;  that  is,  they  believe  that  while  they 
partake  of  the  visible  material  the  departed  spirit  partakes  at  the  same  time 
of  the  spirit  that  dwells  in  the  food.  From  ancient  time  it  was  customary 
to  bury  with  the  dead  various  articles,  such  especially  as  were  most  valued 
in  lifetime.  The  idea  was  that  there  was  a  spirit  dwelling  in  the  article 
represented  by  the  material  article ;  thus  the  war-club  contained  a  spiritual 
war-club,  the  pipe  a  spiritual  pipe,  which  could  be  used  by  the  departed  in 
another  world.  These  several  spiritual  implements  were  supposed,  of 
course,  to  accompany  the  soul,  to  be  used  also  on  the  \\&y  to  its  final 
abode.  This  habit  has  now  ceased.  *  *  *" 

FOOD. 

This  subject  has  been  sufficiently  mentioned  elsewhere  in  connection 
with  other  matters  and  does  not  need  to  be  now  repeated.  It  has  been  an 
almost  universal  custom  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  country  to 
place  food  in  or  near  the  grave  of  deceased  persons. 

DANCES. 

Gymnastic  exercises,  dignified  with  this  name,  upon  the  occasion  of  a 
death  or  funeral,  were  common  to  many  tribes.  It  is  thus  described  by 
Morgan  :* 

*  League  of  the  Iroquois,  1851,  p.  287. 


96  DANCE  FOE  THE  DEAD. 

"An  occasional  and  very  singular  figure  was  called  the  'dance  for  the 
dead.'  It  was  known  as  the  O-he'-wa."  It  was  danced  by  the  women 
alone.  The  music  was  entirely  vocal,  a  select  band  of  singers  being  sta- 
tioned in  the  center  of  the  room.  To  the  songs  for  the  dead  which  they 
sang  the  dancers  joined  in  chorus.  It  was  plaintive  and  mournful  music. 
This  dance  was  usually  separate  from  all  councils  and  the  only  dance  of  the 
occasion.  It  commenced  at  dusk  or  soon  after  and  continued  until  towards 
morning,  when  the  shades  of  the  dead  who  were  believed  to  be  present  and 
participate  in  the  dance  were  supposed  to  disappear.  This  dance  was  had 
whenever  a  family  which  had  lost  a  member  called  for  it,  which  was  usually 
a  year  after  the  event.  In  the  spring  and  fall  it  was  often  given  for  all  the 
dead  indiscriminately,  who  were  believed  then  to  revisit  the  earth  and  join 
in  the  dance." 

The  interesting  account  which  now  follows  is  by  Stephen  Powers,* 
and  relates  to  the  Yo-kai-a  of  California,  containing  other  matters  of  impor- 
tance pertaining  to  burial. 

"I  paid  a  visit  to  their  camp  four  miles  below  Ukiah,  and  finding  there 
a  unique  kind  of  assembly-house,  desired  to  enter  and  examine  it,  but  was 
not  allowed  to  do  so  until  I  had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  old  sexton 
by  a  few  friendly  words  and  the  tender  of  a  silver  half  dollar.  The  pit  of 
it  was  about  50  feet  in  diameter  and  4  or  5  feet  deep,  and  it  was  so  heavily 
roofed  with  earth  that  the  interior  was  damp  and  somber  as  a  tomb.  It 
looked  like  a  low  tumulus,  and  was  provided  with  a  tunnel-like  entrance 
about  10  feet  long  and  4  feet  high,  and  leading  down  to  a  level  with  the 
floor  of  the  pit.  The  mouth  of  the  tunnel  was  closed  with  brush,  and 
the  venerable  sexton  would  not  remove  it  until  he  had  slowly  and  devoutly 
paced  several  times  to  and  fro  before  the  entrance. 

"Passing  in  I  found  the  massive  roof  supported  by  a  number  of  peeled 
poles  painted  white  and  ringed  with  black  and  ornamented  with  rude 
devices.  The  floor  was  covered  thick  and  green  with  sprouting  wheat, 
which  had  been  scattered  to  feed  the  spirit  of  the  captain  of  the  tribe,  lately 
deceased.  Not  long  afterward  a  deputation  of  the  Senel  came  up  to  con- 
dole with  the  Yo-kaf-a  on  the  loss  of  their  chief,  and  a  dance  or  series  of  dances 

»  Cont.  to  North  American  Ethnol.,  1878,  iii,  p.  164. 


DANCE  FOR  THE  DEAD— YO  KAI-A.  97 

was  held  which  lasted  three  days.  During  this  time  of  course  the  Senel 
were  the  guests  of  the  Yo-kai-a,  and  the  latter  were  subjected  to  a  consider- 
able expense.  I  was  prevented  by  other  engagements  from  being  present, 
and  shall  be  obliged  to  depend  on  the  description  of  an  eye-witness,  Mr. 
John  Tenney,  whose  account  is  here  given  with  a  few  changes : 

"There  are  four  officials  connected  with  the  building,  who  are  probably 
chosen  to  preserve  order  and  to  allow  no  intruders.  They  are  the  assist- 
ants of  the  chief.  The  invitation  to  attend  was  from  one  of  them,  and 
admission  was  given  by  the  same.  These  four  wore  black  vests  trimmed 
with  red  flannel  and  shell  ornaments.  The  chief  made  no  special  display 
on  the  occasion.  In  addition  to  these  four,  who  were  officers  of  the  assem- 
bly-chamber, there  was  an  old  man  and  a  young  woman,  who  seemed  to 
be  priest  and  priestess  The  young  woman  was  dressed  differently  from 
any  other,  the  rest  dressing  in  plain  calico  dresses.  Her  dress  was 
white  covered  with  spots  of  red  flannel,  cut  in  neat  figures,  ornamented 
with  shells.  It  looked  gorgeous  and  denoted  some  office,  the  name  of  which 
I  could  not  ascertain.  Before  the  visitors  were  ready  to  enter,  the  older 
men  of  the  tribe  were  reclining  around  the  fire  smoking  and  chatting.  As 
the  ceremonies  were  about  to  commence,  the  old  man  and  young  woman 
were  summoned,  and,  standing  at  the  end  opposite  the  entrance,  they 
inaugurated  the  exercises  by  a  brief  service,  which  seemed  to  be  a  dedica- 
tion of  the  house  to  the  exercises  about  to  commence.  Each  of  them  spoke 
a  few  words,  joined  in  a  brief  chant,  and  the  house  was  thrown  open  for 
their  visitors.  They  staid  at  their  post  until  the  visitors  entered  and  were 
seated  on  one  side  of  the  room.  After  the  visitors  then  others  were  seated, 
making  about  200  in  all,  though  there  was  plenty  of  room  in  the  center  for 
the  dancing. 

"  Before  the  dance  commenced  the  chief  of  the  visiting  tribe  made  a 
brief  speech,  in  which  he  no  doubt  referred  to  the  death  of  the  chief  of  the 
Yo-kai-a,  and  offered  the  sympathy  of  his  tribe  in  this  loss.  As  he  spoke, 
some  of  the  women  scarcely  refrained  from  crying  out,  and  with  difficulty 
they  suppressed  their  sobs.  I  presume  that  he  proposed  a  few  moments  of 
mourning,  for  when  he  stopped  the  whole  assemblage  burst  forth  into  a 
bitter  wailing,  some  screaming  as  if  in  agony.  The  whole  thing  created 
7  Y 


98  DANCE  FOR  THE  DEAD— YO-KAI-A. 

such  a  din  that  I  was  compelled  to  stop  my  ears.  The  air  was  rent  and 
pierced  with  their  cries.  This  wailing  and  shedding  of  tears  lasted  about 
three  or  five  minutes,  though  it  seemed  to  last  a  half  hour.  At  a  given 
signal  they  ceased,  wiped  their  eyes,  and  quieted  down. 

"  Then  preparations  were  made  for  the  dance.  One  end  of  the  room 
was  set  aside  for  the  dressing-room.  The  chief  actors  were  five  men,  who 
were  muscular  and  agile.  They  were  profusely  decorated  with  paint  and 
feathers,  while  white  and  dark  stripes  covered  their  bodies.  They  were 
girt  about  the  middle  with  cloth  of  bright  colors,  sometimes  with  variegated 
shawls.  A  feather  mantle  hung  from  the  shoulder,  reaching  below  the  knee; 
strings  of  shells  ornamented  the  neck,  while  their  heads  were  covered  with 
a  crown  of  eagle  feathers.  They  had  whistles  in  their  mouths  as  they 
danced,  swaying  their  heads,  bending  and  whirling  their  bodies ;  every 
muscle  seemed  to  be  exercised,  and  the  feather  ornaments  quivered  with 
light.  They  were  agile  and  graceful  as  they  bounded  about  in  the  sinuous 
course  of  the  dance. 

"  The  five  men  were  assisted  by  a  semicircle  of  twenty  women,  who 
only  marked  time  by  stepping  up  and  down  with  short  step ;  they  always 
took  their  places  first  and  disappeared  first,  the  men  making  their  exit 
gracefully  one  by  one.  The  dresses  of  the  women  were  suitable  for  the 
occasion.  They  were  white  dresses  trimmed  heavily  with  black  velvet. 
The  stripes  were  about  three  inches  wide,  some  plain  and  others  edged  like 
saw-teeth.  This  was  an  indication  of  their  mourning  for  the  dead  chief  in 
whose  honor  they  had  prepared  that  style  of  dancing.  Strings  of  haliotis 
and  pachydesma  shell  beads  encircled  their  necks,  and  around  their  waists 
were  belts  heavily  loaded  with  the  same  material.  Their  head-dresses 
were  more  showy  than  those  of  the  men.  The  head  was  encircled  with  a 
bandeau  of  otters'  or  beavers'  fur,  to  which  were  attached  short  wires  stand- 
ing out  in  all  directions,  with  glass  or  shell  beads  strung  on  them,  and  at 
the  tips  little  feather  flags  and  quail  plumes.  Surmounting  all  was  a  pyra- 
midal plume  of  feathers,  black,  gray,  and  scarlet,  the  top  generally  being 
a  bright  scarlet  bunch,  waving  and  tossing  very  beautifully.  All  these 
combined  gave  their  heads  a  very  brilliant  and  spangled  appearance. 

"  The  first  day  the    dance  was  slow  and  funereal,  in  honor  of  the 


BUBIAL  FOOD  AND  SONGS.  99 

Yo-kaf-a  chief  who  died  a  short  time  before.  The  music  was  mournful  and 
simple,  being  a  monotonous  chant  in  which  only  two  tones  were  used, 
accompanied  with  a  rattling  of  split  sticks  and  stamping  on  a  hollow  slab. 
The  second  day  the  dance  was  more  lively  on  the  part  of  the  men,  the 
music  was  better,  employing  airs  which  had  a  greater  range  of  tune,  and 
the  women  generally  joined  in  the  chorus.  The  dress  of  the  women  was 
not  so  beautiful,  as  they  appeared  in  ordinary  calico  The  third  day,  if 
observed  in  accordance  with  Indian  custom,  the  dancing  was  still  more 
lively  and  the  proceedings  more  gay,  just  as  the  coming  home  from  a 
Christian  funeral  is  apt  to  be  much  more  jolly  than  the  going  out. 

"A  Yo-kai-a  widow's  style  of  mourning  is  peculiar.  In  addition  to  the 
usual  evidences  of  grief,  she  mingles  the  ashes  of  her  dead  husband  with 
pitch,  making  a  white  tar  or  unguent,  with  which  she  smears  a  baud  about 
two  inches  wide  all  around  the  edge  of  the  hair  (which  is  previously  cut  off 
close  to  the  head),  so  that  at  a  little  distance  she  appears  to  be  wearing  a 
white  chaplet. 

"It  is  their  custom  to  'feed  the  spirits  of  the  dead'  for  the  space  of 
one  year  by  going  daily  to  places  which  they  were  accustomed  to  frequent 
while  living,  where  they  sprinkle  pinole  upon  the  ground.  A  Yo-kai-a 
mother  who  has  lost  her  babe  goes  every  day  for  a  year  to  some  place 
where  her  little  one  played  when  alive,  or  to  the  spot  where  the  body  was 
burned,  and  milks  her  breasts  into  the  air.  This  is  accompanied  by  plaint- 
ive mourning  and  weeping  and  piteous  calling  upon  her  little  one  to  return, 
and  sometimes  she  sings  a  hoarse  and  melancholy  chant  and  dances  with  a 
wild  ecstatic  swaying  of  her  body." 

SONGS. 

It  has  nearly  always  been  customary  to  sing  songs  at  not  only  fune- 
rals but  for  varying  periods  of  time  afterwards,  although  these  chants  may 
no  doubt  occasionally  have  been  simply  wailing  or  mournful  ejaculation. 
A  writer*  mentions  it  as  follows  : 

"At  almost  all  funerals  there  is  an  irregular  crying  kind  of  singing, 
with  no  accompaniments,  but  generally  all  do  not  sing  the  same  melody  at 

*  Am.  Antiq.,  April,  May,  June,  18/9,  p.  251. 


100  GHOST  GAMBLE- SIOUX. 

the  same  time  in  unison.  Several  may  sing  the  same  song  and  at  the  same 
time,  but  each  begins  and  finishes  when  he  or  she  may  wish.  Often  for 
weeks,  or  even  months,  after  the  decease  of  a  dear  friend,  a  living  one, 
usually  a  woman,  will  sit  by  her  house  and  sing  or  cry  by  the  hour ;  and 
they  also  sing  for  a  short  time  when  they  visit  the  grave  or  meet  an 
esteemed  friend  whom  they  have  not  seen  since  the  decease.  At  the  fu- 
neral both  men  and  women  sing.  No.  11  I  have  heard  more  frequently 
some  time  after  the  funeral,  and  No.  12  at  the  time  of  the  funeral,  by  the 
Twanas.  (For  song  see  p.  251.)  The  words  are  simply  an  exclamation  of 
grief,  as  our  word  '  alas ' ;  but  they  also  have  other  words  which  they  use, 
and  sometimes  they  use  merely  the  syllable  la.  Often  the  notes  are  sung 
in  this  order,  and  sometimes  not,  but  in  some  order  the  notes  do  and  /a,  and 

occasionally  mi,  are  sung." 

GAMES. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  describe  under  this  heading  examples  of  those 
athletic  and  gymnastic  performances  following  the  death  of  a  person  which 
have  been  described  by  Lafitau,  but  simply  to  call  attention  to  a  practice 
as  a  secondary  or  adjunct  part  of  the  funeral  rites,  which  consists  in  gam- 
bling for  the  possession  of  the  property  of  the  defunct.  Dr.  Charles  E. 
McChesney,  U.  S.  A.,  who  for  some  time  was  stationed  among  the  Wah- 
peton  and  Sisseton  Sioux,  furnishes  a  detailed  and  interesting  account  of 
what  is  called  the  "  ghost  gamble."  This  is  played  with  marked  wild- 
plum  stones.  So  far  as  ascertained  it  is  peculiar  to  the  Sioux. 

"After  the  death  of  a  wealthy  Indian  the  near  relatives  take  charge  of 
the  effects,  and  at  a  stated  time — usually  at  the  time  of  the  first  feast  held 
over  the  bundle  containing  the  lock  of  hair — they  are  divided  into  many 
small  piles,  so  as  to  give  all  the  Indians  invited  to  play  an  opportunity  to 
win  something  One  Indian  is  selected  to  represent  the  ghost,  and  he 
plays  against  all  the  others,  who  are  not  required  to  stake  anything  on  the 
result,  but  simply  invited  to  take  part  in  the  ceremony,  which  is  usually 
held  in  the  lodge  of  the  dead  person,  in  which  is  contained  the  bundle 
inclosing  the  lock  of  hair.  In  cases  where  the  ghost  himself  is  not  wealthy 
the  stakes  are  furnished  by  his  rich  friends,  should  he  have  any.  The 
players  are  called  HI  one  at  a  time,  and  play  singly  against  the  ghost's 


GHOST  GAMBLE— SIOUX.  101 

representative,  the  gambling  being  done  in  recent  years  by  means  of  cards 
If  the  invited  player  succeeds  in  beating  the  ghost,  he  takes  one  of  the  piles 
of  goods  and  passes  out,  when  another  is  invited  to  play,  etc.,  until  all  the 
piles  of  goods  are  won  In  cases  of  men  only  the  men  play,  and  in  cases 
of  women  the  women  only  take  part  in  the  ceremony. 

"  Before  the  white  men  came  among  these  Indians  and  taught  them 
many  of  his  improved  vices,  this  game  was  played  by  means  of  figured 
plum-seeds,  the  men  using  eight  and  the  women  seven  seeds,  figured  as 
follows : 

"  Two  seeds  are  simply  blackened  on  one  side,  the  reverse  containing 
nothing.  Two  seeds  are  black  on  one  side,  with  a  small  spot  of  the  color 
of  the  seed  left  in  the  center,  the  reverse  side  having  a  black  spot  in  the 
center,  the  body  being  plain.  Two  seeds  have  a  buffalo's  head  on  one 
side  and  the  reverse  simply  two  crossed  black  lines.  There  is  but  one  seed 
of  this  kind  in  the  set  used  by  the  women.  Two  seeds  have  half  of  one 
side  blackened  and  the  rest  left  plain,  so  as  to  represent  a  half  moon  ;  the 
reverse  has  a  black  longitudinal  line  crossed  at  right  angles  by  six  small 
ones.  There  are  six  throws  whereby  the  player  can  win,  and  five  that 
entitle  him  to  another  throw.  The  winning  throws  are  as  follows,  each 
winner  taking  a  pile  of  the  ghost's  goods : 

"Two  plain  ones  up,  two  plain  with  black  spots  up,  Buffalo's  head  up, 
and  two  half  moons  up  wins  a  pile  Two  plain  black  ones  up,  two  black 
with  natural  spot  up,  two  longitudinally  crossed  ones  up,  and  the  transversly 
crossed  one  up  wins  a  pile.  Two  plain  black  ones  up,  two  black  with 
natural  spots  up,  two  half  moons  up,  and  the  transversely  crossed  one  up 
W7ins  a  pile.  Two  plain  black  ones,  two  black  with  natural  spot  up,  two 
half  moons  up,  and  the  buffalo's  head  up  wins  a  pile.  Two  plain  ones  up, 
two  with  black  spots  up,  two  longitudinally  crossed  ones  up,  and  the  trans- 
versely crossed  one  up  wins  a  pile.  Two  plain  ones  up,  two  with  black 
spots  up,  Buffalo's  head  up,  and  two  long  crossed  up  wins  a  pile.  The  fol- 
lowing throws  entitle  to  another  chance  to  win:  two  plain  ones  up,  two 
with  black  spots  up,  one  half  moon  up,  one  longitudinally  crossed  one  up, 
and  Buffalo's  head  up  gives  another  throw,  and  on  this  throw,  if  the  two 


102  BUEIAL  POSTS  AND  FIEES. 

plain  ones  up  and  two  with  black  spots  with  either  of  the  half  moons  or 
Buffalo's  head  up,  the  player  takes  a  pile.  Two  plain  ones  up,  two  with 
black  spots  up  two  half  moons  up,  and  the  transversely  crossed  one  up 
entitles  to  another  throw,  when,  if  all  of  the  black  sides  come  up  excepting 
one,  the  throw  wins.  One  of  the  plain  ones  up  and  all  the  rest  with  black 
sides  up  gives  another  throw,  and  the  same  then  turning  up  wins.  One  of 
the  plain  black  ones  up  with  that  side  up  of  all  the  others  having  the  least 
black  on  gives  another  throw,  when  the  same  turning  up  again  wins.  One  half 
moon  up  with  that  side  up  of  all  the  others  having  the  least  black  on  gives 
another  throw,  and  if  the  throw  is  then  duplicated  it  wins.  The  eighth  seed, 
used  by  the  men  has  its  place  in  their  game  whenever  its  facings  are  men- 
tioned above.  I  transmit  with  this  paper  a  set  of  these  figured  seeds,  which 
can  be  used  to  illustrate  the  game  if  desired.  These  seeds  are  said  to  be 
nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  and  sets  of  them  are  now  very  rare." 

For  assisting  in  obtaining  this  account  Dr.  McChesney  acknowledges 
his  indebtedness  to  Dr.  C.  C.  Miller,  physician  to  the  Sisseton  Indian 

Agency. 

POSTS. 

These  are  placed  at  the  head  or  foot  of  the  grave,  or  both,  and  have 
painted  or  carved  on  them  a  history  of  the  deceased  or  his  family,  certain 
totemic  characters,  or,  according  to  Schoolcraft,  not  the  achievements  of 
the  dead,  but  of  those  warriors  who  assisted  and  danced  at  the  interment. 
The  northwest  tribes  and  others  frequently  plant  poles  near  the  graves, 
suspending  therefrom  bits  of  rag  flags,  horses  tails,  etc.  The  custom  among 
the  present  Indians  does  not  exist  to  any  extent.  Beltrami*  speaks  of  it  as 
follows : 

"Here  I  saw  a  most  singular  union.  One  of  these  graves  was  sur- 
mounted by  a  cross,  whilst  upon  another  close  to  it  a  trunk  of  a  tree  was 
raised,  covered  with  hieroglyphics  recording  the  number  of  enemies  slain 
by  the  tenant  of  the  tomb  and  several  of  his  tutelary  Manitous." 

FIRES. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine  why  the  custom  of  building  fires 
on  or  near  graves  originated,  some  authors  stating  that  the  soul  thereby 

"Pilgrimage,  18-J8,  ii,  p.  308. 


BUEIAL  SUPEESTITIONS— HIDATSA.  103 

underwent  a  certain  process  of  purification,  others  that  demons  were  driven 
away  by  them,  and  again  that  they  were  to  afford  light  to  the  wandering 
soul  setting  out  for  the  spirit  land.  One  writer  states  that  "the  Algonkins 
believed  that  the  fire  lighted  nightly  on  the  grave  was  to  light  the  spirit  on 
its  journey.  By  a  coincidence-  to  be  explained  by  the  universal  sacred- 
ness  of  the  number,  both  Algonkins  and  Mexicans  maintained  it  for  four 
nights  consecutively.  The  former  related  the  tradition  that  one  of  their 
ancestors  returned  from  the  spirit  land  and  informed  their  nation  that  the 
journey  thither  consumed  just  four  days,  and  that  collecting  fuel  every 
night  added  much  to  the  toil  and  fatigue  the  soul  encountered,  all  of  which 
could  be  spared  it."  So  it  would  appear  that  the  belief  existed  that  the  fire 
was  also  intended  to  assist  the  spirit  in  preparing  its  repast. 

"Stephen  Powers*  gives  a  tradition  current  among  the  Yurok  of  Cali- 
fornia as  to  the  use  of  fires: 

"After  death  they  keep  a  fire  burning  certain  nights  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  grave.  They  hold  and  believe,  at  least  the  'Big  Indians'  do,  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  are  compelled  to  cross  an  extremely  attenuated 
greasy  pole,  which  bridges  over  the  chasm  of  the  debatable  land,  and  that 
they  require  the  fire  to  light  them  on  their  darksome  journey.  A  righteous 
soul  traverses  the  pole  quicker  than  a  wicked  one,  hence  they  regulate  the 
number  of  nights  for  burning  a  light  according  to  the  character  for  good- 
ness or  the  opposite  which  the  deceased  possessed  in  this  world."  Dr.  Emil 
Bessels,  of  the  Polaris  expedition,  informs  the  writer  that  a  somewhat 
similar  belief  obtains  among  the  Esquimaux. 

SUPERSTITIONS. 

An  entire  volume  might  well  be  written  which  should  embrace  only 
an  account  of  the  superstitions  regarding  death  and  burial  among  the 
Indians,  so  thoroughly  has  the  matter  been  examined  and  discussed  by 
various  authors,  and  yet  so  much  still  remains  to  be  commented  on,  but  in 
this  work,  which  is  simply  preliminary,  and  is  hoped  will  be  provocative  of 
future  efforts,  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  give  only  a  few  accounts.  The 
first  is  by  Dr.  W.  Mathews,  U.  S.  A.,f  and  relates  to  the  Hidatsa : 

*Cont.  to  N.  A.  Etlmol.,  1877,  ii,  p.  58. 

tEthnol.  and  Philol.  of  tbo  Hidatsa  Indians.  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  of  Terr.,  1877,  p.  409. 


104  BURIAL  SUPERSTITIONS— CHIPPEWA. 

"  When  a  Hidatsa  dies  his  shade  lingers  four  nights  around  the  camp 
or  village  in  which  he  died,  and  then  goes  to  the  lodge  of  his  departed 
kindred  in  the  '  village  of  the  dead.'  When  he  has  arrived  there  he  is 
rewarded  for  his  valor,  self-denial,  and  ambition  on  earth  by  receiving  the 
same  regard  in  the  one  place  as  in  the  other,  for  there  as  here  the  brave 
man  is  honored  and  the  coward  despised.  Some  say  that  the  ghosts  of 
those  that  commit  suicide  occupy  a  separate  part  of  the  village,  but  that 
their  condition  differs  in  no  wise  from  that  of  the  others.  In  the  next 
world  human  shades  hunt  and  live  in  the  shades  of  buffalo  and  other  ani- 
mals that  have  here  died.  There,  too,  there  are  four  seasons,  but  they  come 
in  an  inverse  order  to  the  terrestrial  seasons.  During  the  four  nights  that 
the  ghost  is  supposed  to  linger  near  his  former  dwelling,  those  who  dis- 
liked or  feared  the  deceased,  and  do  not  wish  a  visit  from  the  shade,  scorch 
with  red  coals  a  pair  of  moccasins  which  they  leave  at  the  door  of  the 
lodge.  The  smell  of  the  burning  leather  they  claim  keeps  the  ghost  out ; 
but  the  true  friends  of  the  dead  man  take  no  such  precautions." 

From  this  account  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Hidatsa  as  well  as  the 
Algonkins  and  Mexicans  believed  that  four  days  were  required  before  the 
spirit  could  finally  leave  the  earth.  Why  the  smell  of  burning  leather 
should  be  offensive  to  spirits  it  would  perhaps  be  fruitless  to  speculate  on. 

The  next  account,  by  Keating,*  relating  to  the  Chippewas,  shows  a 
slight  analogy  regarding  the  slippery-pole  tradition  already  alluded  to: 

"The  Chippewas  believe  that  there  is  in  man  an  essence  entirely 
distinct  from  the  body;  they  call  it  Ochechag,  and  appear  to  supply  to  it  the 
qualities  which  we  refer  to  the  soul.  They  believe  that  it  quits  the  body 
at  the  time  of  death  and  repairs  to  what  they  term  Chekechekchekawe ;  this 
region  is  supposed  to  be  situated  to  the  south  and  on  the  shores  of  the  great 
ocean.  Previous  to  arriving  there  they  meet  with  a  stream  which  they  are 
obliged  to  cross  upon  a  large  snake  that  answers  the  purpose  of  a  bridge ; 
those  who  die  from  drowning  never  succeed  in  crossing  the  stream ;  they 
are  thrown  into  it  and  remain  there  forever.  Some  souls  come  to  the  edge 
of  the  stream  but  are  prevented  from  passing  by  the  snake  that  threatens 
to  devour  them ;  these  are  the  souls  of  the  persons  in  a  lethargy  or  trance. 

*  Long's  Exped.,  1824,  ii,  p.  158. 


BURIAL  SUPERSTITIONS— KAROK.  105 

Being  refused  a  passage,  these  souls  return  to  their  bodies  and  reanimate 
them.  They  believe  that  animals  have  souls,  and  even  that  inorganic  sub- 
stances, such  as  kettles,  etc.,  have  in  them  a  similar  essence. 

"  In  this  land  of  souls  all  are  treated  according  to  their  merits.  Those 
who  have  been  good  men  are  free  from  pain ;  they-  have  no  duties  to  per- 
form, their  time  is  spent  in  dancing  and  singing,  and  they  feed  upon  mush- 
rooms, which  are  very  abundant.  The  souls  of  bad  men  are  haunted  by 
the  phantom  of  the  persons  or  things  that  they  have  injured ;  thus,  if  a  man 
has  destroyed  much  property  the  phantoms  of  the  wrecks  of  this  property 
obstruct  his  passage  wherever  he  goes ;  if  he  has  been  cruel  to  his  dogs  or 
horses  they  also  torment  him  after  death.  The  ghosts  of  those  whom  dur- 
ing his  lifetime  he  wronged  are  there  permitted  to  avenge  their  injuries. 
They  think  that  when  a  soul  has  crossed  the  stream  it  cannot  return  to  its 
body,  yet  they  believe  in  apparitions  and  entertain  the  opinion1  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  will  frequently  revisit  the  abodes  of  their  friends  in 
order  to  invite  them  to  the  other  world  and  to  forewarn  them  of  their 
approaching  dissolution." 

Stephen  Powers,  in  his  valuable  work  so  often  quoted,  gives  a  number 
of  examples  of  superstitions  regarding  the  dead,  of  which  the  following 
relates  to  the  Karok  of  California : 

"  How  well  and  truly  the  Karok  reverence  the  memory  of  the  dead 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  highest  crime  one  can  commit  is  the  pet-cM-e- 
ri,  the  mere  mention  of  the  dead  relative's  name.  It  is  a  deadly  insult  to 
the  survivors  and  can  be  atoned  for  only  b}^  the  same  amount  of  blood- 
money  paid  for  willful  murder.  In  default  of  that  they  will  have  the  villain's 
blood.  *  *  *  At  the  mention  of  his  name  the  moldering  skeleton  turns 
in  his  grave  and  groans.  They  do  not  like  stragglers  even  to  inspect  the 
burial  place.  *  *  *  They  believe  that  the  soul  of  a  good  Karok  goes  to 
the  'happy  western  land '  beyond  the  great  ocean.  That  they  have  a  well- 
grounded  assurance  of  an  immortality  beyond  the  grave  is  proven,  if  not 
otherwise,  by  their  beautiful  and  poetical  custom  of  whispering  a  message 
in  the  ear  of  the  dead.  *  *  *  Believe  that  dancing  will  liberate  some 
relative's  soul  from  bonds  of  death  and  restore  him  to  earth." 

According  to  the  same  author,  when  a  Kelta  dies  a  little  bird  flies  away 


106  SUGGESTIONS  FOE  COLLECTOES. 

with  his  soul  to  the  spirit  land  If  he  was  a  bad  Indian  a  hawk  will  catch 
the  little  bird  and  eat  him  up  soul  and  feathers,  but  if  he  was  good  he  will 
reach  the  spirit  land.  Mr.  Powers  also  states  that  "The  Tolowa  share  in 
the  superstitious  observance  for  the  memory  of  the  dead  which  is  common  to 
the  Northern  Californian  tribes.  When  I  asked  the  chief  Tahhokolli  to  tell 
me  the  Indian  words  for  'father'  and  'mother'  and  certain  others  similar,  he 
shook  his  head  mournfully  and  said  'all  dead,'  'all  dead,'  'no  good.'  They 
are  forbidden  to  mention  the  name  of  the  dead,  as  it  is  a  deadly  insult  to 
the  relatives,"  *  *  *  and  that  the  "  Mat-trial  hold  that  the  good  depart 
to  a  happy  region  somewhere  southward  in  the  great  ocean,  but  the  soul  of 
a  bad  Indian  transmigrates  into  a  grizzly  bear,  which  they  consider  of  all 
animals  the  cousin-gerrnan  of  sin." 

The  Mosquito  Indians  of  Central  America  studiously  and  superstitiously 
avoid  mentioning  the  name  of  the  dead,  in  this  regard  resembling  those  of  our 

own  country. 

FINAL  EEMAEKS. 

We  have  thus  briefly,  though  it  is  hoped  judiciously  and  carefully,  re- 
viewed the  subject  of  Indian  burial,  avoiding  elaborate  discussion,  as  foreign 
to  the  purpose  of  the  work,  simply  pointing  out  from  the  carefully  gleaned  ma- 
terial at  our  disposal  such  examples  and  detached  accounts  as  may  serve  as 
guides  to  those  whose  interest  in  the  subject  may  lead  them  to  contribute  to  the 
final  volume.  Before  closing,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  again  allude  to  the 
circular  which  has  been  forwarded  to  observers  and  call  attention  to  some  addi- 
tional matters  of  importance  connected  with  the  queries,  which  are  as  follows  :* 

1st.  NAME  OF  THE  TRIBE;  present  appellation;  former,  if  differing  any; 
and  that  used  by  the  Indians  themselves. 

2d.  LOCALITY,  PRESENT  AND  FORMER. — The  response  should  give  the 
range  of  the  tribe  and  be  full  and  geographically  accurate. 

3d.  DEATHS  AND  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES;  what  are  the  important  and 
characteristic  facts  connected  with  these  subjects!  How  is  the  corpse  pre- 
pared after  death  and  disposed  of?  How  long  is  it  retained  1  Is  it  spoken 
to  after  death  as  if  alive?  when  and  where?  What  is  the  character  of  the 

•Advantage  has  been  taken  to  incorporate  with  the  queries  certain  modifications  of  those  pro- 
pounded l.y  Schoolcraft  in  his  well-known  work  on  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  United  States,  relating  to 

the  8UII1I-  .-lll'jt  (  I. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOE  COLLECTORS.  107 

addresses'?  What  articles  are  deposited  with  it;  and  why  I  Is  food  put 
in  the  grave,  or  in  or  near  it  afterwards  I  Is  this  said  to  be  an  ancient 
custom?  Are  persons  of  the  same  gens  buried  together;  and  is  the  clan 
distinction  obsolete,  or  did  it  ever  prevail  ? 

4th.  MANNER  OF  BURIAL,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN;  STRUCTURE  AND  POSI- 
TION OF  THE  GRAVES;  CREMATION. — Are  burials  usually  made  in  high  and 
dry  grounds?  Have  mounds  or  tumuli' been  erected  in  modern  times  over 
the  dead!  How  is  the  grave  prepared  and  finished?  What  position  are 
bodies  placed  in?  Give  reasons  therefor  if  possible.  If  cremation  is  or 
was  practiced,  describe  the  process,  disposal  of  the  ashes,  and  origin  of 
custom  or  traditions  relating  thereto.  Are  the  dead  ever  eaten  by  the 
survivors?  Are  bodies  deposited  in  springs  or  in  any  body  of  water?  Are 
scaffolds  or  trees  used  as  burial  places;  if  so,  describe  construction  of  the 
former  and  how  the  corpse  is  prepared,  and  whether  placed  in  skins  or 
boxes.  Are  bodies  placed  in  canoes?  State  whether  they  are  suspended 
from  trees,  put  on  scaffolds  or  posts,  allowed  to  float  on  the  water  or  sunk 
beneath  it,  or  buried  in  the  ground.  Can  any  reasons  be  given  for  the 
prevalence  of  any  one  or  all  of  the  methods?  Are  burial  posts  or  slabs 
used,  plain,  or  marked,  with  flags  or  other  insignia  of  position  of  deceased. 
Describe  embalmment,  mummification,  desiccation,  or  if  antiseptic  precau- 
tions are  taken,  and  subsequent  disposal  of  remains.  Are  bones  collected 
and  reinterred ;  describe  ceremonies,  if  any,  whether  modern  or  ancient. 
If  charnel  houses  exist  or  have  been  used,  describe  them. 

5th.  MOURNING  OBSERVANCES. — Is  scarification  practiced,  or  personal 
mutilation?  What  is  the  garb  or  sign  of  mourning?  How  are  the  dead 
lamented?  Are  periodical  visits  made  to  the  grave?  Do  widows  carry 
symbols  of  their  deceased  children  or  husbands,  and  for  how  long?  Are 
sacrifices,  human  or  otherwise,  voluntary  or  involuntary,  offered?  Are 
fires  kindled  on  graves;  why,  and  at  what  time,  and  for  how  long? 

6th.  BURIAL  TRADITIONS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS. — Give  in  full  all  that  can 
be  learned  on  these  subjects,  as  they  are  full  of  interest  and  very  important. 

In  short,  every  fact  bearing  on  the  disposal  of  the  dead;  and  correla- 
tive customs  are  needed,  and  details  should  be  as  succinct  and  full  as  possible. 

One  of  the  most  important  matters  upon  which  information  is  needed 


108  SUGGESTIONS  FOE  COLLECTOES. 

is  the  "why"  and  "wherefore"  for  every  rite  and  custom;  for,  as  a  rule, 
observers  are  content  to  simply  state  a  certain  occurrence  as  a  fact,  but 
take  very  little  trouble  to  inquire  the  reason  for  it. 

The  writer  would  state  that  any  material  the  result  of  careful  observa- 
tion will  be  most  gratefully  received  and  acknowledged  in  the  final  volume, 
and  he  would  here  confess  the  lasting  obligation  he  is  under  to  those  who 
have  already  contributed  in  response  to  his  call. 

Criticism  and  comments  are  earnestly  invited  from  all  those  interested 
in  the  special  subject  of  this  paper  and  anthropology  in  general.  Contribu- 
tions are  also  requested  from  persons  acquainted  with  curious  forms  of 
burial  prevailing  among  other  tribes  of  savage  men. 

In  addition  to  the  many  references,  etc ,  given  by  the  various 
members  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  communications  have  been  received 
from  the  following  persons,  although  their  accounts  may  not  have  been 
alluded  to  in  this  volume;  should  omissions  of  names  have  occurred  it  is 
hoped  attention  will  be  called  to  the  fact. 

The  writer  acknowledges  with  pleasure  the  assistance  he  has  received 
in  reading  the  proof  of  this  volume  from  Mr.  J.  C.  Pilling,  Dr.  Thomas  W. 
Wise  and  Mr.  R.  W.  Hardy. 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS. 


E.  H.  ALDEN. 

DR.  C.  P.  ALLEN. 

GEN.  BENJAMIN  ALVORD,  U.  S.  A. 

C.  C.  BALDWIN. 

JOHN  BALL. 

E.  A.  BARBER. 

DR.  JOHN  H.  BARTHOLF,  U.  S.  A. 

LIEUT.  E.  M.  BASS,  U.  S.  A. 

LIEUT.  ERIC  BERGLAND,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  E.  BESSELS. 

JOHN  HENRY  BONER. 

DR.  W.  C.  BOTELER. 

LIEUT.  JOHN  G.  BOURKE,  U.  S.  A. 

GEN.  L.  P.  BRADLEY,  U.  S.  A. 

J.  L.  BURCHARD. 

HENRY  BurrERFrELD. 

WILLIAM  N.  BYERS. 

T.  A.  CHENEY. 

BENJAMIN  CLARK. 

LIEUT.  WILLIAM  P.  CLARKE, 

U.  8.  A. 
W.  J.  CLEVELAND. 

W.  L.  COFFINBERRY. 

J.  F.  CRAVENS. 

W.  M.  CUNNINGHAM. 

WILLIAM  H.  DALL. 

MRS.  E.  H.  DANFORTII. 

W.  H.  DANILSON. 

WELLS  DIIURY. 

HARRY  EDWARDS. 

REV.  EDWIN  EELLS. 

DR.  Louis  ELSBERG. 

GEORGE  H.  FIELLER. 

LIEUT.  GEORGE  E.  FORD,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  EDWARD  FOREMAN. 

CAPT.  J.  H.  GAGEBY,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  W.  H.  GARDNER,  U.  S.  A. 

ALBERT  S.  GATSCHET. 

FLORIEX  GIAUQUE. 

G.  K.  GILBERT. 

DR.  J.  W.  GIVEN. 

O.  G.  GIVEN. 


DR.  P.  GREGG. 

REV.  SHERLOCK  GREGORY. 

DR.  FORDYCE  GRINNELL. 

DR.  J.  F.  HAMMOND,  U.  S.  A. 

A.  G.  HENNISSEE. 

DR.  W.  J.  HOFFMAN. 

COL.  A.  L.  HOUGH,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  FRANKLIN  B.  HOUGH. 

ROBERT  HOWELL.  ' 

C.  A.  HUNTINGTON. 

DR.  GEORGE  W.  IRA. 

H.  P.  JONES. 

CAPT.  W.  A.  JONES,  U.  S.  A. 

JUDGE  ANTHONY  JOSEPH. 

M.  B.  KENT. 

H.  R.  KERVEY. 

DR.  JAMES  P.  KIMBALL,  U.  S.  A. 

W.  M.  KING. 

DR.  J.  V.  LAUDERDALE,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  J.  L.  LECONTE. 

GEORGE  W.  LEE. 

J.  M.  LEE. 

DR.  RICHARD  ELMHURST  LIGHT- 

BURNE,  U.  S.  A. 
DR.  REBECCA  H.  LONGSHORE. 
COL.  G.  MALLERY,  U.  S.  A. 
DR.   CHARLES  E.   MCCHESNEY, 

U.  S.  A. 

DR.  AUGUSTIN  J.  MCDONALD. 

DR.  J.  C.  McKEE,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  JAMES  MCLAUGHLIN. 

DR.  T.  A.  McPARLiN,  U.  S.  A. 

I.  L.  MAHAN. 

DR.  F.  S.  MATTESON. 

GEN.  M.  C.  MEIGS,  U.  S.  A. 

DR.  JOHN  MENAUL. 

DR.  J.  L.  MILLS. 

R.  H.  MILROY. 

DR.  RUDOLPH  MUELLER. 

DR.  WILLIAM  M.  NOTSON,  U.  S.  A. 

FRANK  M.  OFFUTT. 

W.  T.  OWSLEY. 


CAPT.  A.  D.  PALMER. 

DR.  EDWARD  PALMER. 

C.  W.  PARRISH. 

GEORGE  H.  PERKINS. 

J.  C.  PILLING. 

CAPT.  R.  H.  PRATT,  U.  S.  A. 

HOSP.-STEW.  CHARLES  PRIMES, 

U.  S.  A. 

DR.  CHARLES  RAU. 
DR.  J.  REAGLES,  1 1.  S.  A. 
R.  S.  ROBERTSON. 
DR.  J.  T.  ROTHROCK,  U.  S.  A. 
C.  C.  ROYCE. 
S.  A.  RUSSELL. 
C.  W.  SANDERSON. 
DR.  B.  G.  SEMIG,  U.  S.  A. 
LIEUT.  CHARLES  S.  SMITH,  U.  S.  A. 
DR.  JOSEPH  R.  SMITH,  U.  S.  A. 
JOHN  A.  SPRING. 
C.  L.  STRATTON. 
DR.  M.  K.  TAYLOR,  U.  S.  A. 
W.  H.  B.  THOMAS. 
GEN.  CHARLES  H.  TOMPKINS, U.S.A. 
M.  TOMPKINS. 

CAPT.  E.  J.  THOMPSON,  U.  S.  A. 
T.  M.  TRIPPE. 
S.  S.  TURNER. 

CAPT.  FKED.  VAN  VLIET,  U.  S.  A. 
GEN.  S.  VAN  VLIET,  U.  S.  A. 
LIEUT.  A.  W.  VOGDES,  U.  S.  A. 
W.  D.  WHEELER. 
DR.  C.  A.  WHITE. 
DR.  W.  WHITNEY. 
COL.  CHARLES  WHITTLESEY. 
EDWARD  J.  WICKSON. 
DR.  B.  G.  WILDER. 
REV.  JOHN  P.  WILLIAMSON. 
WILLIAM  WOOD. 
DR.  J.  P.  WRIGHT. 
S.  G.  WRIGHT. 
DR.  LORENZO  J.  YATES. 
JOHN  YOUNG. 


Letters  and  papers,  to  forward  which  stamps  will  be  sent  if  requested, 
may  be  addressed  as  follows: 

DR.  H.  C.  YARROW, 
P.  0.  Box  585,  WASHINGTON,  D  C. 

109 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Achomawi  Indians,  burial  and  cremation  of. 61, 62 

Alaska  cave  burial 33,34 

Aleutian  mummies 43, 44,  45 

Ancient  burial  customs  of  Persians 8,  9, 10 

Antiquity  of  cremation 49 

Aquatic  burial,  Cherokees 88 

Chinooks 88 

Gosh-TJtes 88,89 

Hyperboreans 88 

Ichthyophagians 88 

Itzas 88 

Lotopbagians 88 

Ascena  Indians 8 

Atwater,  Caleb 19 

Bactrians,  burial  customs  of 10 

Baldor,  burial  of 88 

Balearic  Islanders,  burial  of 49 

Bancroft,  Hubert  H 13,65 

Barber,  E.  A 46,62 

Bartram,  William 14,25,77 

Basket  burial 84 

Bean,  George  W 88 

Beckwourtli,  James 90 

Bcltrami,  J.  C 93,102 

Benson,  H.  C 92 

Bcvcrley,  Eobert 35 

Blackbird's  burial 47,48 

Blackfeet  lodge  burial 65 

tree  burial 67,68 

Bonaks,  cremation  myths  of 50,51 

Bono  bouses 76 

Choctaws 76,  77 

Bos  burial 65 

Bransford,  U.  S.  N.,  Dr.  J.  C 47 

Brebeuf,  P.  do 94 

Brinton,  Dr.  D.  G 79 

Britons,  living  sepulcber  of , 90 

Bruliier,  Jacques  Jean 8,  74 

Burchard,  J.  L 15 

Burial  above  ground,  Sioux 63 

Burial  and  cremation,  Acbomawi  Indians 61,  02 

in  California 61,62 

in  New  Jersey 62 

Burial,  aquatic,  Gosh-Utes 88, 89 

Burial  boxes  and  canoes 85 

Makah 84 

Burial  customs  of  Bactrians 10 

Caspians 10 

Chickasaws 14 

Ilir<  'uni  an  s 10 


Burial  customs  of  Iberians... 

Medes 

Parthians  , 
dances . . . 


Page. 

10 

10 

10 

95 

dance,  Iroquois C5,  96 

To-kai-a 96,97,98,99 

feasts 93,94 

feast,  Hurons 94,95 

feasts,  superstitions  regarding 95 

fires... 102,103 

food 95 

Yo-kai-a 99 

and  dances 95 

and  songs 99 

houses,  Columbia  Kiver 83, 84 

in  baskets 84 

in  boxes 65 

Cherokees 65 

Choctaws 65 

Creeks 65,66 

in  cabins,  -wigwams,  or  houses 13 

cairns 48 

cairns,  Utah 48, 49 

caves 29 

caves,  California 32,  33 

logs 47 

mounds,  Missouri 17 

Ohio 19,20,21,22 

of  Baldor 88 

Balearic  Islanders 49 

Blackbird 47,48 

Indians  of  Round  Valley 15 

Muscogulges 14 

on  trees  and  scaffolds 66 

posts  102 

and  fires 102 

sacrifice 87,88 

sacrifice,  Tsinuk 86 

scaffolds 68,09 

songs 99,100 

Burials,  provisional  arrangement  of 5 

Burial  superstitions,  Chippewa ...  104, 105 

Hidatsa 103,104 

Karok 105 

Kelta 105,100 

Mat-t6al 100 

Tolowa  100 

Yurok 103 

suporterreno  and  aerial 81 

surface 47 

.     Ill 


112 


INDEX. 


Page. 
45 


Burial  urns 

California 

Georgia •' 

Muscogee 

New  Mexico -••• 

If  icaragna 

Burnside,  Samuel  L " 

Cabin,  wigwam,  or  house  burial 

Caddoes,  inhumation  of 8 

Cairn  burial 48 

Utah 48,49 

California  burial  and  cremation 61, 62 

urns 46 

cave  burial 32,  33 

Canes  sepulchralea 10 

Canoe  burial,  Clallams 81,82 

Canoe  burial,  Indians  of  Oregon  and  "Washington  ...  82, 83 

Canoes  and  burial  boxes 85 

Canoes,  inhumation  in 13 

Caraibs,  verification  of  death  of 53,  54 

Caribs'  mourning 74 

Carolina  tribes,  inhumation  of 6,  7 

Caspians,  burial  customs  of 10 

Catlin,  George 47,80,89 

Cave  burial 29 

Alaska 33,34 

Innnit 33,34 

Utah 29,30,31,32 

Chaldean  urn  burial 45 

Chambered  mounds 17, 18 

Cherokees,  aquatic  burial  of 88 

burial  in  boxes 65 

partial  cremation  of 59, 60, 61 

Cheyenne  scaffold  burial 69,70 

Chickasaws,  burial  customs  of 14 

Chillicothe  mound 21 

Chinook,  aquatic  burial  of 88 

Chippewa  burial  superstitions 104, 105 

mourning  observances 91, 92 

Choctaw  bone  houses 76, 77 

Choctaws,  burial  in  boxes  of 65 

mourning  observance 92,  93 

ossuaries  of 25, 26, 77, 78 

Circular  of  queries 2,  3,  4 

Cists  or  stone  graves 15 

Clallam  canoe  burial 81,  82 

Colchiens,  tree  burial  of 74 

Collectors,  suggestions  for 106, 107, 108 

Columbia  Kiver  burial  houses 83,  84 

Conclamation  of  Romans 74,  75 

Congaree  and  Santee  Indians,  partial  embalment  of .  37, 38 

Contributors,  list  of 109 

Costa  Rica  Indians 65 

Coyotero  Apaches,  inhumation  of 11, 12 

Cox,  Ross 51 

Creeks,  burial  in  boxes  of 65,66 

Cremation 49 

antiquity  of 49 

Florida 57,58 

furnace 58, 59 

Indians  of  Clear  Lake 54,55 

Indians  of  Utah 58 

myths 49,50,51 

Bonaka 50,51 

Nishiname    49,50 

Oregon 51,52,53 


Page. 

Cremation,  partial 59, 60,  61 

remarks  on 54 

Senel  Indians 55,  56,  57 

Tolkotins 51,52,53 

Crow  lodge  burial 64,65 

Crows,  mourning  observances  of 90,  91 

Curtiss,  Edwin 17,18 

Dall,  William  H 33,41 

Dances,  burial 95 

and  burial  food 95 

Dance  for  the  dead 96 

Dead,  dance  for 96 

Derbices,  living  sepulchers  of 90 

Eells.  Rev.  M 81 

Effedens,  living  sepulchers  of 90 

Feasts,  burial 93,94 

Final  remarks 106 

Fires,  burial 102,103 

Fiske,  Moses 15 

Florida  burial  mounds 23,24,25 

cremation 57,  58 

Food,  burial 95 

Foreman,  Dr.  E 46,58 

Foster,  J.  W 45,59 

Furnace  cremation 58,  59 

Gageby.  U.  S.  A. ,  Capt.  J.  H 65 

Georgia  burial  urns 46 

"Ghost  gamble,"  Sioux 100,101,102 

Gianque,  Florian 26 

Gibbs,  George    10,54,82 

Gillman,  Henry 57 

"  Golgothas, "  Mandans 80 

Grinnell,  Dr.  Fordyce 7 

Grossman,  U.  S.  A.,  Capt  F.  E 11 

Hammond,  U.  S.  A.,  Dr.  J.  F 65 

Hardy,R.W 109 

Hidatsa  burial  superstitions 103, 104 

Hind,H.T 94 

Hiicaniaus,  burial  customs  of 10 

Hoffman.Dr.  W.  J 11 

Holbrook,W.C 22 

Hough,  Franklin  B 12 

Houses,  bone 76 

Hurons,  burial  feasts  of 94,  95 

Hyperboreans,  aquatic  burial  of 88 

Iberians,  burial  customs  of 10 

Ichthyophagi  aquatic  burial  of 88 

Illinois  burial  mounds 22,  23 

Indians  of  Clear  Lake,  cremation 54, 55 

of  Oregon  and  Washington,  canoe  burial 82, 83 

of  Utah,  cremation 58 

Inhumation 5 

Caddoes 8 

in  canoes 13 

Carolina  tribes 6,7 

Coyotero  Apaches 11,12 

Klamaths 10 

Massasaugas 12 

Mohawks 5,6 

Navajos 14, 15 

Pimas 11 

Wichitas 7,8 

Innuit  cave  burial 33, 34 

Introductory  remarks 1, 2,  4,  5 

Irish,  living  sepulr.hers  of 90 

Iroquois,  burial  dance  of 95,  90 


INDEX. 


113 


Iroquois,  ossuaries  of 78, 79 

Itzas,  aquatic  burial  of 88 

Jenkes,  Col.  C.  W CO 

Johnston,  Adam 50 

Jones,  Charles  C.,jr 77 

Jones,  Dr.  J.S •. 16 

Karok  buiial  superstitions 105 

Keating,  William  H 68,104 

Kelta  burial  superstitions 105, 106 

Kentucky  mummies 38, 39, 40, 41 

Kitty-ka-tats 7 

Klamaths,  inhumation  of 10 

Klingbeil,  William 62 

Lawson,  John 37 

Letter  of  transmittal vii 

List  of  contributors 109 

Living  sepulchers 89 

Britons 90 

Derbices 90 

Effedens 90 

Irish 90 

Massageties 90 

Tartars 90 

Lodge  burial,  Blackfeet 65 

Crows 64,65 

Navajos 65 

Sioux 63,64,65 

Log  burial 47 

Lotophagians,  aquatic  burial  of 88 

M.uhan,  I.  L 3i 

Makah  burial  boxes 84 

Mandan  "  Golgothas  " 80 

Massageties,  living  sepulchers  of 90 

Massasaugas,  inhumation  of 12 

Mathews,  TJ.  S.  A.,  Dr.  W 103 

Mat-toal  burial  superstitions 106 

McChesney,  TL  S.  A.,  Dr.  Charles  E 100 

McDonald,  Dr.  A.  J 30 

McKinley,  William 46 

Medes,  burial  customs  of 10 

Menard,  Dr.  John 14 

Miami  Valley  mound  burial ; .  26 

Miller,  Dr.  C.  C 102 

Mitchill,Dr.  Samuel  L 39,41 

Mohawks,  inhumation  of 5,  6 

Morgan,  L.H 78,95 

Mortuary  customs  of  the  Persians 8, 9, 10 

Mound  burial,  Florida 23,24,25 

Illinois 22,23 

Miami  Valley 26 

Missouri 17 

North  Carolina 26,27,28,29 

Tennessee 18,19 

Mound,  Chillicothe 21 

Mounds,  chambered 17, 18 

of  stone 21,22 

Mourning  observances,  Caribs 74 

Chippewas 91, 92 

Choctaws 92,  93 

Crows 90,  91 

Sioux 72,73 

Mummies 34,  35 

Aleutian 43,  44, 45 

Kentucky 38,  39, 40, 41 

Northwest  Coast. 41,  42, 43, 44,  45 

South  Carolina 37,38 

8  Y 


Page. 

Mummies,  Virginia 35,36,37 

Muret,  Pierre ,.        8.89 

Muscogee  burial  urns 46 

Muscogulge  Indians,  burial  of 14 

Myths  of  cremation 49, 50, 51 

Natchez  ossuaries 77 

Navajo  ledge  burial 65 

Navajos,  inhumation  of 14, 15 

New  Jersey,  burial  and  cremation  in 62 

New  Mexico  burial  urns 46 

Nicaragua 47 

Nishinams,  cremation  myths  of 49,50 

Norris,P.W 65 

North  Carolina  burial  mounds 26, 27, 28, 29 

Northwest  coast  mummies 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 

Ohio  burial  mounds 19,20,21,22 

Oregon,  cremation  in 51,  52, 53 

Ossuaries 79 

Ossuaries,  Choctaw 77,78 

Iroquois 78,79 

Natchez 77 

Ossuary  of  Choctaws 25, 26 

Otis,  U.S.  A.,  Dr.  George  A 69 

Parthians,  burial  customs  of 10 

Partial  cremation 59,60,61 

Cherokees 59, 60,  61 

embalment,  Congaree  and  Santee  Indians 37, 38 

scaffold  burial  and  ossuaries 76 

Persians,  ancient  burial  customs  of 8, 9, 10 

mortuary  customs  of 8, 9, 10 

Pilling,  J.  C  109 

Pimas  Indians 11 

inhumation  of 11 

Pinkerton,  John 36 

Posts,  burial 102 

and  fires,  burial 102 

Powell,  Maj.  J.  W 16 

preface  by iii,  iv,  v,  vi 

Powers,  Stephen 55,96,103,105 

Preface  by  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell iii,  iv,  v,  vi 

Provisional  arrangement  of  burials 5 

Putnam.F.W 17,18 

Queries,  circularof 2,3,4 

Remarks,  final 106 

introductory 1,  2, 4,  5 

on  cremation 54 

Review  of  Turner's  narrative 73, 74 

Robertson,  R.  S 47 

Roman,  Bernard 14, 76 

Romans,  conclamation  of 74,75 

Round  Valley  Indians,  burial  of 15 

Sacrifice,  burial 87,88 

Sauer,  Martin 43 

Scaffolds,  burial  on 68,69 

Scaffold  burial,  Cheyennes 69,70 

Sioux 70,71,72,73 

Tanktonias 66 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  R 37,50,54 

Scythians,  tree  burial  of 74 

Senel  Indians,  cremation  of 55,  56,  57 

Sepiilchers,  living 89 

Sheldon,  William 53 

Simpson,  II.  S.  A.,  Capt.  J.  H 88 

Sioux  burial  above  ground 63 

"  ghost  gamble  " 100,101,102 

lodge  burial 63,64,C5 


114 


INDEX. 


Pago. 

Sioux  mourning  observances  72, 73 

scaffold  burial 70,71,72,73 

S<  ilut  r6,  France,  stone  graves  or  cists  of. 15, 16 

Songs  and  burial  food 99 

burial 99,100 

South  Carolina  mummies 37, 38 

urn  burial 45 

Spainhonr,  Dr.  J.  Mason 26,29 

Steinberg,  U.  S.  A.,  Dr.  George  M 24,69 

Stone  graves  or  cists 15 

of  Solutr6,  France 15,16 

Tennessee 15,16 

mounds 21,22 

Suggestions  for  collectors 106, 107, 108 

Superstitions  regarding  burial  feasts 95 

Superterrene  and  aerial  burial 81 

Surface  burial 47 

Swallow,  G.  C 45 

Tartars,  living  sepulchers  of 90 

tree  burial  of 74 

Tennessee  mound  burial 18, 19 

stone  graves  or  cists 15,16 

Tiffany,  A.  S 58 

Tolkotin,  cremation 51,52,53 

Tolowa  burial  superstitions 106 

TompMns,  U.  S.  A.,  Gen.  Charles  H 62 


Page. 

Transmittal,  letter  of vii 

Tree  and  scaffold  burial 66 

burial,  Blackfeet 67,68 

Colchiens 74 

Scythians 74 

Tartars 74 

Tsinuk  burial  sacrifice 86 

Turner,  Dr. L.  S 70,73 

TTrn  burial 45 

Chaldeans 45 

South  Carolina 45 

TTtah  cave  burial 29, 30,  31,  32 

Van  Campen,  Moses 12 

Verification  of  death  of  Caraibs 53,54 

Virginia  mummies 35, 36,  37 

"Whitney,  J.D 32 

Wichitas,  inhumation  of 7,  8 

Wilcox,  Mr   60 

"Wilkins,  Charles 39 

Wise,  Dr.  Thos.  W 109 

Yanktonias,  scaffold  burial  of '  66 

Yo-kai-a  burial  dance 96, 97, 98, 99 

food 99 

Young,  John     67 

Yurok,  burial  superstitions  of 303 


